Carréducker

It was a maverick move in a trade dominated by a handful of centuries-old bespoke houses. Nearly 20 years on, they continue to carve their own, unique path through the traditional bastions of the handsewn trade in London, making beautiful bespoke shoes and championing the craft. Customers from across the world seek them out for their use of vegetable tanned leathers, colour and modern approach, combining craft and manufacturing to offer a wide range of footwear including their latest iteration, bespoke leather sneakers. 

Keen to share their skills and passion, they started teaching shoemaking in 2006 and today you can join them on an array of courses for beginners tailored to suit your schedule, from one-to-one training to evening classes. They also teach other shoemakers with masterclasses in shoe care and specialist handsewn constructions. Many of their students continue to make shoes for pleasure, some have gone into the shoe industry and others have gone on to become bespoke shoemakers in their own right.

Sustainably sourced, vegetable tanned leather is one of their favourite materials to work with. It is a biproduct, naturally tanned for longevity and to give a tactile beauty that gradually patinates with time. In their short introductory leathercraft classes and workshops, you can work with this luxurious material to create useful accessories from a key fob to a dog collar or belt picking up useful tips and new skills along the way.

If you would like to see more of Carréducker’s work you can see them in Designer Maker User at the Design Museum, London; visit their website or follow their YouTube channel and Instagram.