Italian Shoemaker ^HOT^

The first family owned company to support our dream of creating handcrafted sneakers in Italy was IFG Srl from Corridonia in the Marche region. The IFG artisans are lead by Mario, a cordwainer (shoemaker) with more than 40 years of shoemaking expertise, and his son Giacomo. Once being an apprentice himself, Mario developed a programme to train young aspiring shoemakers. He enlisted the help of two retired master cordwainers and set up a tutoring programme to ensure the trainees, one day, become masters themselves. Trained by his father Mario, Giacomo decided to step fully into his father's footsteps by taking over the company a few years ago to ensure the Grassetti shoemaking legacy is continued.

italian shoemaker

I had trouble comprehending that, but due to the struggles the family-owned factories have faced, shoemakers often want their children to learn other careers. There simply is not enough work or money in shoemaking anymore. In the U.S., we view high-end Italian shoemaking as an art form. But in the shoe valley of Italy, along the Adriatic coast north of Rome, it is a failing profession. With few children learning from their parents and grandparents, the longstanding tradition of quality Italian shoemaking is not long for this world, and may be lost within one or two more generations.

Having acquired struggling high street brand Bossini and British shoemaker Clarks via an investment fund with LionRock Capital, Viva China said acquiring the brand at a discount provides a good investment opportunity.

Stefano Bemer, maker of bespoke Italian shoes for men, takes its own brand of shoemaking craftsmanship to the country as it sets up shop inside the Signet store located at the Windsor Tower in Legazpi Village Makati. Also in the country is Betina Manzano-Yang, a Filipina shoemaker for the Florentine brand.

Despite being present in 10 cities across the world and its plans to further expand globally, the brand is known for its commitment to Italian elegance and quality, exemplified through the experience it delivers. It all begins with the selection of shoemakers, which, itself, is a process that is unique to the company.

There are a small number of Italian shoemakers in Maremma who practice centuries old traditional skills passed down through the generations by master shoemakers: Diego Daddi in Suvereto is one such shoemaker.

Diego Daddi is an artisan shoemaker and artist with a passion for the middle ages, whose "labortatorio" (workshop) is fittingly situated in the medieval city of Suvereto in Maremma Livornese. I came across one of his business postcards in the Tourist Office in Suvereto and decided to find out more...

I asked him why he had decided to pursue a career as a shoemaker - particularly as the life of an artisan in Italy is anything but easy - and, perhaps not surprisingly, he told me that from a very young boy he has always loved making things in leather, from belts to bags to armour.

Seven years ago, he started to sell his work at medieval shows and festivals. Then a chance encounter with another shoemaker led him to a three year apprenticeship with a master craftsman in the last years before he retired. A rare opportunity indeed to learn a traditional skill from old hands and one which has enabled him to turn his passion into a livelihood.

Salvatore Ferragamo, the upscale Italian shoemaker, denied a Sunday Times report in London that it is con sidering an initial pub lic offering worth $1 billion in Hong Kong and has spoken with potential investors. 041b061a72