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The Shoemakers Journal
Here we welcome you to indulge your passion for quality handmade shoes and craftsmanship. In our blog “The Shoemakers Journal” discover the history and heritage behind our family business, share shoe care best practice as well as interviews and stories written by members of the Loake family, and our extended family of makers and wearers.
How to Care for Hand-Painted Leather Shoes
Hand-painted shoes are unique in the way they are finished. Beginning with a blank canvas of natural leather base, our…
Five of the Best: Men’s Work Shoes
It’s time to sharpen your pencils and polish your shoes; it’s not just the kids going back to school, a…
Five of the Best: Men’s Loafer Styles
Today, loafers and slip-on shoes are recognised as an easy-going, transitional style that offer a great alternative to lace-up shoes.…
Fire at Wood Street
If the current situation that we find ourselves in tells us anything, it’s that community and the goodwill of people…
Loake, Leander & Legacies with Cameron Buchan
Cameron Buchan is a full-time athlete with British Rowing hoping to secure a seat for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.…
How to Polish Fine Leather Shoes
We get a surprising number of questions about what is the best way to polish leather shoes. There are, of…
Shoe Care Guide
With the correct care and maintenance your Loake shoes will retain their excellent appearance and comfort for years to come.…
Sole Options
Goodyear Welted footwear is traditionally constructed with a leather sole. In recent years however, other materials have begun to grow…
How to care for suede
Most people have a reasonable understanding of how important it is to look after leather shoes and it’s relatively easy…
A discussion about “Made in England”
In response to growing consumer interest in the provenance of the products they buy, Andrew Loake gives a frank and honest account of Loake’s position on the “country of origin” question.
Shoe Lasts & Styles: Part 2
In Part 2 of our focus on last shapes and fit, we take a look at the most popular contemporary…
Shoe Lasts & Styles: Part 1
A shoe last is the foot-shaped former over which the finished upper of the shoe is shaped during the manufacturing…
Shoemaking Operations: Part 2
If you have read, Part 1 of our Shoemaking Operations series, in the second part we take a look at…
Shoemaking Operations: Part 1
A pair of Loake Goodyear Welted shoes takes up to eight weeks to make. Some 130 skilled craftsmen, up to…
Goodyear Welting Explained
Perhaps surprisingly, the Goodyear Welt has nothing to do with car tyres – it’s a particular type of shoe construction,…
