A shop has a lot to say about a place. As our lives become more attuned to spending time in front of a screen, it’s refreshing to step inside a brick-and-mortar store where you can experience the sensations of touching and smelling the products on display and having a chat with the shopkeeper. But what makes a good shop? The answer is, of course, subjective but there are a few qualities that all great shops have in common. First and foremost, a good shop must have purpose. It must also value authenticity, quality and service above all. These are a necessity and not nice to haves. It should make you want to linger – and, perhaps, make you reflect on a deeper level how this purchase can improve your life.
Bespoke Shoes
Bespoke shoemaker Vickermann & Stoya checks all those boxes. Nestled in the quaint Black-Forest town of Baden-Baden in Germany’s southwest corner, the atelier-cum-shop has established itself as one of Germany’s go-to addresses for handmade leather shoes. Founded by Matthias Vickermann whose love of shoes inspired the idea before founding the brand with cobbler Martin Stoya in 2004. “Since our inception, we have dedicated ourselves exclusively to authenticity and aesthetics.”
Sprawled across a two storied building lies both the showroom floor and manufacturing workshop. As you enter the store the smell of leather and wood permeate the air while more than 1,000 shoe lasts lining the walls creates the impression that you’re walking into a medieval craft guild and not some 21st century retail store. Then again you are in a historic Roman bath town where history is around every corner. Artistically displayed throughout the showroom are the collection of shoes that honor classic mens and womens footwear including oxford, monk, brogue, Norwegian, loafer and derby styles.
Vickermann and Stoya like to say there is no particular ‘house style’ of shoe. Since each pair is bespoke to the client, each pair reflects the personality of the owner rather than the one making the shoe. However, a word or two that comes to mind after holding one of their shoes in your hand is: subtle or reserved.
When asked about his favorite shoe, Vickermann replied, “the Oxford full-Brogue in dark brown suede.”
Craftsmanship and Passion
The shoe industry, globally, is the largest user of leather products, manufacturing around 14 billion pairs annually. Of those, roughly 11.5 billion are produced in factories across Asia, while Germany contributes approximately 25 million to that total. Of that 25 million, 240 of those pairs come directly from Vickermann and Stoya’s workshop. It takes up to five months to make a shoe for a first-time customer and six weeks on any orders from repeat customers thereafter. A true testament to the level of craftsmanship and passion that go into making each pair.
Vickermann and Stoya know that individually crafted shoes convey values and reflect the personality of the wearer. That is without saying your shoes can be an unintended manifestation of your personality and not some relic of a bygone era. As the physical point of contact where our body touches the material world, shoes are the means by which we communicate our identity. Our shoes indeed matter more than we may think. Through the decades, countless studies have been conducted that reveal variations in color, shape and styles of shoes convey important information about the wearer.
A paper published in 2012 by Dr. Omri Gillath titled “Shoes As A Source Of First Impression,” revealed that by simply looking at a picture of a strangers worn shoes, participants could, with a high degree of accurately, tell the persons age, gender, and income.
If you’re the type of person that sees shoes as simply ‘things to put on your feet’, then shoes aren’t much of an expression of your inner self. But, if you are interested in the impression you give the world, then understanding what your shoes are communicating is vital.
A bespoke shoe is a true expression of your inner feeling and attitude. It’s a confession to beauty and elegance. Bespoke shoes made by Vickermann and Stoya represent the highest level of quality and craftsmanship.
Places like this are becoming increasingly rare. I hope this encourages others to establish their own similar shop or, at the very least, reflect on what their shoes say about them.
