Step 03 of 08
Wooden Shoe Last
The wooden form your shoes are built on, shaped to your measurements.
The last is the heart of a bespoke shoe: a wooden model of the foot, built up and cut back until it carries your measurements exactly.
It is made to the measurement sheet, to the model you have chosen — Derby, or Oxford and Richelieu — and to the style of the shoe: the shape of the toe, the width through the ball, the pitch of the heel.
The last is kept, named and stored in the workshop. Your second pair begins from it, which is why every pair after the first is quicker to make.
Working the last
The wood is measured, built up and checked against the measurement sheet at every stage, then taped so the design can be drawn straight onto the form.
Your last, kept on the shelf with your name on it.
One carving, then a lifetime of pairs made from it.
Start your pair