Summer is rapidly approaching its end: with the chill in the air, out goes the lightweight wardrobe and in comes knitwear, heavier denim and more robust footwear. And as any boot aficionado will tell you, they don’t come much more robust than Red Wings.
For Autumn 2017, the Minnesota-based brand present a brace of new styles, along with reworkings of old favourites. The Rover boot, for instance, is a handsome boot that’s partway between the Iron Ranger and classic Round-Toe styles, and is made up in the brand’s oil-tanned Rough & Tough leather on a coffee-coloured Comfort Crepe sole for the perfect blend of versatile good looks and all day comfort.
Elsewhere we see subtle twists on the classics, with the 6” Moc Toe boot swapping out its white Cushion sole for a sleek black Traction Tred option, while the Iron Ranger boot is decked out in Hawthorne Muleskinner roughout leather, which combines the casual look of suede with the hardwearing nature of full-grain leather for the perfect autumn boot. Finally, the smart Blacksmith boot appears in both oil-tanned leather and the new Spitfire waxed roughout leather.
Whichever style catches your fancy, you’re ensured to be rewarded for your investment with a bulletproof, good-looking and timeless pair of boots. The new Red Wing collection is available from Aphrodite Clothing now.
Aphrodite recently had the privilege of receiving an invitation for a guided tour of the famous Grenson factory with a cheeky interview with the Owner and Creative Director Tim Little. Situated in Northampton, the most recent premises have been occupied by the brand since 2013, after the move in 1895, when the then owner William Green and his team had outgrown the previous premises. Needless to say, the new state of the art factory is a modern, warm, clean and efficient move for the company.
The factory is situated in a modern industrial estate and has all the hallmarks of a working factory. With the classic metal structure to the building, the front section has been given a wooden clad exterior, which has started to age beautifully while the Grenson branding and logo can be seen in contrasting red to the front – a simple representation of the brand and the products they create.
Tim Little interview
Upon arrival, we were greeted by some cheery staff then escorted straight up to meet Tim Little, the current Owner and Creative Director of the brand. Tim bought out the previous owners, the Green family in 2010 and since then has evolved the business, opening more stores, adding high end accounts to their books, which in turn has Kickstarted their expansion into the highest quality wholesale distribution, and entered the digital world with an e-commerce website.
Aphrodite had the pleasure of interviewing Tim in his office and creative space. The office space had been designed with an open plan, free flowing feel with plenty of windows, which allows Tim to overlook the entire factory. Below shows a teaser of the Interview.
We were given our guided tour by a lovely chatty man called Roger Tiffnail. Roger has worked at Grenson for 35 years and has worked on all parts of the production process, but his current role is a pattern cutter. So who better to give us a tour, all questions we asked was answered without a second thought and he is a credit to the company. Thanks Roger!
The below video shows a behind the scenes look at the shoe making process at the Grenson factory.
One of the first things to hit us when we entered the factory floor was the noise and smell, a mixture of leather, chemicals greeted us. The full factory is one massive open floor space, split into sections for different procedures, prepping, assembling and finishing. Each section then has a number of sub sections, making the whole process a team effort.
Prepping
Cutting
Skiving
Perforating
Machine closing
Assembling
Welted (Triple welts)
Trimming
Cork filling
Neoprene cementing
Sole layering
Riveting
Finishing
Gentleman’s corner (cut to the heel)
Trim fore part
Edge colouring
Waxing
Creasing
Bottom scouring
The factory only make Triple welt styles and produce on average 30-50 pairs of shoes and boots a week. All parts of every shoe made in the Northampton factory are made at the factory, no parts are made in other countries and shipped in, so each and every shoe is 100% made in England, which is a massive selling point for the British brand. The factory also offer a repair service, with repairs on all types of Grensons being made here from new soles, to polishing to full services to bring some old favorites back to life.
Everyone at Aphrodite would just like to say a massive thank you to Grenson for giving us the opportunity to come and pester you for a day, especially Tim Little and Roger Tuffnail.
Aphrodite stock a wide range Grenson Shoes and Grenson Boots including Triple Welt styles which are available online and in-store.
We were lucky enough to sit down with the Owner and Creative Director of Grensons, Tim Little, check out the full interview below:
What was it about Grensons that made you decide to take the brand on?
I think probably the main thing is history, it was a company with a wonderful and amazing history that hadn’t really told its story in the last 20 years or so. A lot of people didn’t know much about Grensons, I’ve known about the brand from when I was young but hadn’t heard about it for a long time. So, delving back into the story of the brand and the company and seeing all this amazing history, that was it really, the opportunity to bring that out again.
What is the process of designing and creating a shoe?
The process starts always with an idea to me. I’m not somebody who sits down with a pencil and thinks, “how do I draw a great shoe?”, it’s more about an idea of a type of shoe. So we might think of something if we took this brogue and put a chunky sole on it, or what if we put this and changed that leather? What if we made a last with a bulky toe or wide shape or really narrow? It kind of starts with a group of ideas, what if we did a hybrid between that type of shoe and this type of shoe and played around with it. It starts with all of these kinds of ideas, there’s an in-house design team, we sit together and we go through the ideas, I’ll put in my various thoughts, they’ll put in theirs, we’ll say “can we make that work?”. They go off and draw a few things up, then we get into prototypes and things.
The bit where it really starts to happen is the prototype stage. As soon as we get the first prototype back from the factory you can immediately tell whether it’s going to work or not. Sometimes you look and think, “No, that’s completely not going to work, that was a bad idea.” Other times you will look at it and think, “Yeah with a few tweaks I think this might go in the right direction.”
So that’s how it starts, then the design team develops it further, do more and more prototypes, lots and lots of tweaking. The sales team is always saying “the shows are coming up, you better hurry up”. We’re always making lots more changes, eventually, the product is ready and it goes into production.
What is your personal favourite Grensons shoe?
That’s a really difficult question, I think probably, it would have to be the Archie triple welt. To me, that is like an exaggeration of the heart of Grenson. I wanted to do a shoe that was just everything Grenson was about and exaggerated it, so it’s a brogue but it’s got exaggerated big punching, it’s on a big wide last, it’s got this amazing handmade welt to it that has loads of handwork in it which shows all the craft, all the time and everything. I love that shoe, you look at it, you wear it and people notice it then asks you about it. I think that’s what Grensons is all about.
Tim Little’s favourite Grenson shoe
Any tips on how to look after Grensons?
There are a thousand and one things you could do to look after your shoes better. The single most important thing is probably to rotate them, a really well made English shoe like ours, if you wear it every day, what happens is, it gets quite damp even if it’s hot. If it’s hot they get even damper, because the moisture from you goes into the shoe. The shoe lasts about half the time when it’s wet, so if you walk around in a shoe that’s got moisture in the leather, the sole for example will wear out a lot quicker. If you can rest them and wear a shoe every other day if you’ve got two pairs, three pairs even better. Put shoe trees in there, put them away and wear them a few days later, that’s important.
The other thing of course is to use decent polish, not just a very waxy polish that sits on the surface to give it a high shine, but a polish that’s a little bit more of a leather food that soaks into the leather and keeps it really supple. It’s all about the leather, it’s a very natural product and looking after that leather is what it’s all about.
How did you come up with ‘the good shoe’ slogan?
That’s really easy because someone came up with that in the 1930s at Grensons. When I got here, one of the first things I did was get all the old brochures and catalogues out. I noticed from about the 1930’s to the 1960-70s, all the catalogues and all the advertising that they did was this beautiful little slogan, “the good shoe” and I loved it because what’s so nice about it is, it’s so understated, it’s so English. It’s not saying, “the best shoe, the most incredible shoe, if you wear this shoe you’ll be fabulous” and all of that, just “The good shoe.” We thought, let’s just bring it back. We got our graphic design guys, we just want to do that logo, so give us a piece of artwork for it. They went away and redesigned it, but I said, “I don’t want it redesigned, I want it exactly like it was just recreated in the old typeface.” And so, we use it all the time now, it feels really relevant even though it’s kind of 1930’s design, I love it.
Who is the most memorable person you’ve made shoes for?
When I first started making shoes under my own brand, I first started Tim Little in the 90s, I was doing like making shoes for Chelsea when they played in the cup final in 97 and stuff like that. But there’s this guy who is my hero called John Lee Hooker and I thought I’d really love to make shoes for him.
I contacted him through his agent, which took a long time, all my shoes are also named after blues songs, his agent asked for a catalogue, so we sent a catalogue and he chose a pair of Chelsea boots, they were called “slidewinder” and his agent called, saying he couldn’t get them on, he was quite old and they are quite difficult to pull on. He sent them back and said, “do you have any loafers?”, so I sent him a pair of loafers and the message came back saying they were perfect.
As he was putting them on, he saw on the inside that they were called, “Whiskey & Women”, which is the name of one of his songs. This was by chance, I hadn’t sent it for that reason, but apparently, he loved that. That was my favourite moment that he was walking around in a pair of my shoes.
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A big thank you to Tim and Grensons for the chance to get to know more about such a wonderful brand if you want a pair of Grenson shoes, we stock a wide range at Aphrodite, shop here.
Diemme return to Aphrodite stronger than ever for Autumn / Winter 2016. Consistently producing a wide spectrum of products, Diemme produce everything from low top sneakers to hiking boots that are designed for every day city life. For Autumn / Winter 2016, Diemme have maintained their ethos but have made some welcome changes to make their iconic silhouettes suitable for the colder months.
A welcome return to Aphrodite is the Diemme Marostica Low. A hiking inspired low top sneaker, the Marostica returns in two monochromatic colour ways that inspire elegance and simplicity. Constructed from a premium leather, the Marostica Low retains it’s reputation of being a comfortable every day sneaker whilst the unique hiking inspired lacing system gives it an edge against other silhouettes. Subtle branding can be found embossed to the tongue. Priced at £245, the Diemme Marostica Low in White & Black are available online and in-store.
Additionally, Diemme have given us some new iterations of the classic Roccia Vet Boots. Perfect for the Winter months, the Diemme Roccia Vet isin leather pair and also nubuck. Retaining the same durable silhouette, the Roccia Vet features a full lace up front, thick sole and embossed branding to the side. A highlight of the Nubuck pair is the inclusion of a full fur lining to the inner that provides unparalleled comfort and warmth through the colder months. Although the leather pair doesn’t have this, it’s soft yet durable feel makes them perfect for the unpredictable weather that Winter brings.
Founded in Rushden, Northamptonshire by a shoemaker name William Green in 1866, Grenson has became a symbol of English heritage and quality British manufacturing. Initially making shoes from his loft, Green quickly became recognised for not only the materials used, but the attention to detail that was paid to each shoe.
By continuing to construct with this ethos in mind, Grenson grew from strength to strength and being one of the first shoe makers to use of Goodyear welts allowed the brand to become a national success. This success meant that Grensons was ultimately responsible for hand crafting shoes for the British Army which could withstand the most brutal conditions imagineable and this effort only emphasised their clear British heritage.
Because of their rich history, Grensons has been a part of a whole range of trends and it is this first hand experience over the years that Grenson is focusing on to celebrate their 150th anniversary. Delving into their archives and painstakingly reproducing 8 shoes from over the years that define their history and their success.
One example of the collection is the Toe-cap Derby boot. Shoe 3 of the collection originally produced in the 1940’s as part of the war effort. Contracted by the Government, the Toe-cap Derby was worn by British Army foot soldiers and was extremely durable thanks the Grain leather used. They have painstakingly recreated the Derby boot with the same leather, same toe-cap and even the same sole print that was used in the 1940’s.
Shoe number 4 of the collection is also from the 1940’s but takes the form of a Wing-tip Oxford. The predecessor of Grenson’s brogues that they make today, Grenson have had to re-create the last that the shoe was built on for a truly authentic representation of the original shoe that came out 70 years ago.
Taking archived silhouettes and accurately making them again whilst also updating them for the needs of the modern day man has been a massive task but their England factory has managed to complete their objective. A nostalgic yet practical collection from the British brand, the Grenson Derby Boot and Grenson Wing-tip Oxford Brogues are available here.
With Halloween on the horizon its time to treat yourself to a pair of new winter boots. There’s no trickery here with both Yuketen & Red Wing using the highest quality leathers and craftsmanship. Styles feature are Yuketen Hunt Boots 6 Eye in Brown, Yuketen Eric Boots in Black, Red Wing Chukka Boots in Original and Red Wing Boots 8138 6″ Moc Toe in Briar Oil Slick.
Italian brand Fracap are world renowned manufacturers of the highest quality leather boots. Based in Lecce, Italy, this family owned company prides themselves in crafting each pair of hiking boots with meticulous detail by hand. This week we have selected our favourite styles from their AW15 collection for our Lookbook. You can shop all the boots here
With an unmistakable aesthetic that oozes a unique, original and authentic look, Diemme hiking boots are the pinnacle of a style that is set to rule the winter month’s footwear stakes. As the result of a collaboration between some of the world’s most influential and inspired fashion brands and agencies, Diemme footwear has crafted itself an ever growing reputation in the fashion industry for their creations that blend a total sense of quality and sleek fashion forward design with an unmistakable heritage edge.
20 years of experience in designing and making footwear for hunting, mountaineering and military use goes into every pair of Diemme hiking boots, with their construction featuring only the very best materials, which are put together with artisan precision.
From lightweight Vibram soles, which perfectly adapt from the rigorous demands of the outdoors to the wearable longevity that a day in the city requires, to supreme quality Italian sourced leather, every detail that makes up a pair of Diemme hiking boots is painstakingly perfected to ensure that these boots offer the best in comfort, durability and style.
With classic hiking boot features such as rope laces and metal hook eyelets, these boots by Diemme are the perfect footwear accompaniment to anyone who is seeking a traditional outdoor look. Tying in with the current trend of pioneering open air styling, Diemme hiking boots are operating as the perfect way to bring functional, serviceable style from the hills and trails of the wilderness to the fashion conscious pavements of the towns and cities.
Legendary British shoemaker Grenson have took to their Instagram account to re-gram another of our photos to their 43,000 followers. This time they have chosen to highlight the new arrival of the Grenson Triple Welt that we took delivery of in the last few weeks. Finished in a full grain leather upper, the Triple welt is a masterclass in craftsmanship resulting in a watertight, chunkier sole unit.
Now weighing in with almost 1,000 likes on Instagram, the Triple Welt is certainly proving popular with the brand’s followers.
For more information about the Grenson Triple Welt, please email our customer service team on [email protected].
