Shoemaker

The shoemaker cuts the uppers, works through hand leather cutting processes taking into account the grain and the stretch of each hide, applies sewing techniques to close the upper, and uses sole pre-assembly techniques to bring the upper, the insole and the sole together over a last.

Finally, the shoemaker applies footwear finishing techniques: edges trimmed, dyed and burnished, the sole finished, the whole cleaned and polished. The finished shoe is then checked for quality: stitching, bonding and the symmetry of the pair.

Knowledge of footwear materials and of footwear quality covers how a leather behaves when it is wet, how a synthetic responds to heat and adhesive, and what may come apart with wear. Repair work in the workshop draws on the same knowledge, since the shoemaker has to establish how a shoe was made before taking it apart. Footwear production technology connects the handwork to what machines do, so a shoemaker may work in a workshop or in a footwear factory. The trade is learned through vocational training, apprenticeship and practice.