See also Episode 1: On A Mission | https://wootten.com.au/ep1onamissionvideo/
See also Episode 2: Provenance Is Everything | https://wootten.com.au/ep2provenanceiseverythingvideo/
See also Episode 3: Our Story So Far | https://wootten.com.au/ep3ourstorysofarvideo/
See also Episode 4: Good Things Take Time | https://wootten.com.au/ep4goodthingstaketimevideo/
See also Episode 5: Community Is Key | https://wootten.com.au/ep5communityiskeyvideo/
THE BIGGER PICTURE:
When we talk about design, most people immediately think of aesthetic qualities, such as how an object or a building might look. However, design, if we let it, can play a far greater role.
The modernist's unwavering design ethos spoke to me. They were totally driven by the end user, the materials, the location and the process. They stripped design back to its bare necessities and in doing so they celebrated every element. Much like a craftsman obsesses in details and materials so too did the modernists. Rather than covering things up with decoration they simply let the craftsmanship and materials be the hero.
Keeping craft alive is a noble cause. But can traditional craft be more than preserved? Is it possible that by merging traditional techniques with more "modern" production methods, might we be able to elevate the efficacy of both?
Craft has continuously evolved with the invention of new tools, materials and techniques. Some of the tools we use are my dad's, some of them are Max and Peters, and almost all of them have been salvaged from businesses that have closed down over the past 50 years in Australia. Almost all of them are older than me.
Ultimately though, there is a point at which craft gives way to mass manufacturing, and the essence of the object is fundamentally lost to efficiency. We aim to find the point at which these two worlds can exist together. Our approach has been to stay true to tradition where the outcome demands it. If the "modern" approach would diminish the end result, then tradition always prevails. However if we can take advantage of a mechanism or machine that won't detract from the end result, we are able to democratise our craft, making it more widely accessible.
We use a method known as Blake Rapid or McKay welted. The name derives from the names of the machines used in the construction. Blake invented a machine that could sew the midsole to the insole and upper. The patent was later taken on by McKay who subsequently refined the machine. The Rapid part of the name refers to the Rapid E stitcher, a famous brand of curved needle outsole stitcher. This row of stitching holds the outsole to the welt, hence the interchangeability of the name to McKay welted.
We hand cut our leathers, hand skive them, hand dye them and sew them on single needle post bed machines. We then hand last the uppers using leather counters and toe puffs and clinch nail them to 5mm veg tan insoles. All of this is traditionally how boots would have been made for centuries.
The first deviation from traditional techniques is how we attach our “welt”, which in our case is actually a midsole. This is where the blake/Mckay machine comes in. A hand-welted shoe might take an experienced maker a day a pair to produce the insole, holdfast, hand-sewn welt and outsole (the process known as bottoming). We are able to produce as robust a welt/midsole using the blake/mckay machine in a matter of hours not days. Thus making our footwear far more accessible to the average person.
There is certainly a need for preservation of all traditional processes. We aim to practice this too, but one way to ensure a craft's survival is to make it relevant in today's world; to make it accessible to as many as possible. And thus, possibly, even give it new meaning.
All of this is driven by the fact that the boot, for me, is a conduit to connect to the craft that my dad so thoroughly applied himself to, and thus to him in some small way. It is a legacy I am passionate about upholding. But it is also just a symbol of the bigger ethos that drives what we do. Fundamentally the boot is our foundation (physically and metaphorically) and we use it to launch into a bigger conversation and exploration of what is possible if we apply the right ethos, metrics and ethics to anything we do.
For the direct Youtube link visit here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgF53BPS_2g