The word ‘craft’ crosses our lips a lot. But use a word too often and it begins to lose its meaning. So it was especially rewarding to feel craft on our recent trip to Paraboot’s factory near Grenoble.
We spent two days on site watching the masters at work and even lending a hand ourselves from time to time.
It’s vital for us to understand the work that goes into creating a shoe like the ones we just made with the company. Seeing a process with our own eyes gives us a better shot at helping you feel a stronger connection to what you’re purchasing.
There are over 150 individual processes that go into every pair, many of which happen before work even begins in the factory. Steps like selecting the leather from Chanel’s own tannery, and importing just the right Brazilian rubber for the soles. In the factory, craftspeople apply vanishingly rare trades – stitching and shaping each shoe. It’s mesmerising.
We also visited the nearby Chartreuse distillery but what happened there, stays there.
