Cordwainer Shoes in Deerfield, New Hampshire: Made in the USA

We all wear shoes, most of us though, likely don't think a lot about how are they are made, we simply go to the store, find ones we like in our size, try them on, and if they're a good fit, we buy them. Sounds simple enough. However, there is a whole demographic of Americans who take their shoe wearing very seriously, especially shoes made in the USA. Enter the Cordwainer Shoe Shop in Deerfield, New Hampshire.

Cordwainer Shoes is a family run business has been handcrafting custom fit shoes since the early 1920's. Cordwainer has made it, its company mission to offer the best handcrafted footwear around, proudly made in the USA.

Paul Matthews was in high school when his father recruited him into the family footwear business and up until his death in February of 2009, at the age of 90, Paul was still working 12 hour days in the Cordwainer shoe shop. Shoe making was all he knew, and he was good at it. His wife Molly Grant, an artisan herself, quickly learned the fine art of shoemaking when the two met in the early nineties, and she quickly fell in love with the Cordwainer shoes herself.

"When I was 10 my family went up to the craft show at Sunapee and I remember seeing Paul's shoes and just thinking they were so beautiful and by the time I was 35, I was a juried member in the league with my handbags. And I was setting up my booth and I saw Paul across the room in the craft ware building and I was so excited to go over and meet the maker of these shoes that I remembered since I was 10. As I was so excited and we just became friends instantly, and um before long I was traveling with him and doing shows and I left my little life in Portsmouth and moved over to Deerfield and this became my life and then we got married in 93."

Today Cordwainer is run by Grant and Paul Mathew's daughter, Sarah. Sarah grew up around the business, though she did not join Cordwainer full time until she was an adult. Together, the two seem to have created a seamless, flowing system, each enjoying a particular part of the many steps it takes to make a fine hand crafted made in the USA shoe.

The first and most important of those steps in making a Cordwainer shoe, is the measurement of the foot. Most of the customers of the Cordwainer shop have their foot measured by Sarah, who takes not only a length and width but also makes note of any foot imperfections, like bunions. Those measurements are then transferred to a pattern from which the sole of the shoe is cut. They keep those patters on file at Cordwainer, forever. Then, depending on the style, other pieces are then cut from fine leather, to make the upper portion of the shoe. Once the upper portions are cut, each piece has to be skived around the edges. Skiving means to fold a small section of the leathers edge over, making it smooth and even. This is done with a skiving machine and in the Cordwainer shop most of their shoe making machines are antiques, dating back to the early 1900's, a tradition they say they enjoy carrying on, at the modern day Cordwainer shop.

"I mean the machine's are old but they still work and yea, it's kind of nice, I feel like, you know, when I'm down there I'm using tools that my father used and my grandfather used and so, yea, it's nice in that way too." says Sarah.

Once the individual pieces are skived, the edges need to be finished off with glue and an interior lining is glued on to leather, again all of this is done by hand. Molly then takes those pieces and stitches them together and makes any designs on them. Once the upper portion is completed the sewed together pieces of leather are sew by hand onto the sole, which has been previously cut to match the pattern.

Now that the pieces are together, and almost look like a finished Cordwainer shoe, it's time to give the shoe it's shape in a process called 'lasting'. Sarah explains what lasting is.

"our style of shoemaking is called slip-lasting, which means the upper is made first, connected to the sole and then the last is slipped into the shoe. If you don't know what a last is, that's the wooden form that takes the shape of the foot, that goes into the shoe when we last it."

With the wooden last in place inside the shoe it's then placed inside an oven where it sits for several days. After that the only things left to do are add a sole, trim the edges and polish it up. The final steps before the Cordwainer seal of approval is stamped to the inside sole.

The end result, is a beautiful, durable, original shoe, made in the USA, but one that does not come cheap. Most of the shoes created at the Cordwainer shop sell between 400 and 800 dollars, but it's a price many are willing to pay for such high quality craftsmanship, especially since they are made in the USA. As of May 2009 Cordwainer has a six month waiting list for orders.

And it's not just new shoes that Sarah and Molly are busy working on, at the Cordwainer shop, they also restore their own Cordwainer shoes as well. They can resole, and relast any pair of Cordwainer shoes, essentially making them new again.

A majority of the Cordwainer costumers are from around the country and truly appreciate what goes into this artform. Sarah and Molly, just as Paul did, take the Cordwainer name on the road, attending to trade shows and high end craft festivals in every corner of the country, showing off the Cordwainer style and making friends along the way.

So as they travel spreading the Cordwainer name, neither woman knows for sure what the future holds for the Cordwainer shop, they just know that for now, they will continue to carrying on the Cordwainer tradition, the Cordwainer style and the Cordwainer name, because this is the way Paul would of wanted it.

For more information:
http://www.cordwainercraftgallery.com/store_shoes.php