The Bite Magazine - Summer 2019 - Issue 25

bite shoes T radition has always been a major contributor to the history of Great Britain. If it wasn’t for the industrial revolution, we wouldn’t have had steam trains, iron and textile industries and most of all, we wouldn’t have had Loake. A family of expert craftsmen who have been making traditional English shoes since 1880, it all started when brothers Thomas, John and William Loake set up their busi- ness in an outbuilding at Thomas’ house on 62 King Street in Kettering, Northamptonshire. And as John’s great-grandson and Managing Director, Andrew Loake says, “Today, five generations and more than 130 years later, the Loake association with fine, handmade shoes lives on.” With business expanding, Loake moved to the Unique Boot Factory, as it was known then, onWood Street in 1894.The factory still stands today and has a floor area of approximately 20,000 sq. ft, with over 300 workers and is considered one of the finest and most advanced shoe factories in the country. Fast forward to the First WorldWar and the shoe company’s contribution to the war effort included the manufacture of Terrain, Conva- lescent and Despatch Riders boots for the British army while vast quantities of Cossack boots were made for the Russian army. During the Second World War, they produced around 2,500 pairs of boots for Naval and RAF officers. Thankfully, the ending of the war did not affect busi- ness and they went on to carry stock lines as well as getting the brand officially registered. In 2007, Loake were granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment to HM The Queen and also acquired a new warehouse to accommodate increasing demand for their in-stock service. After many years of producing shoes for the masses, they finally opened their first shop to the public in the heart of London in 2011. It is without a doubt that Andrew Loake, the current custodian of the brand is “immensely proud of the commitment of our forefathers and the traditions they worked so hard to establish.” It is for these reasons that Loake continue to make Goodyear welted shoes in the same factory in Kettering that the three brothers built in 1894. “The Goodyear welted construction for which Loake is renowned is an intricate process with origins going back over 300 years. Only the very highest quality materials are used. Each pair takes eight weeks to make and we still believe there is no finer way to make a gentleman’s shoe.” The b r a n d a l s o designs and produce a range of shoes outside the UK, using a variety of constructions, and export to more than 50 countries. “Our aim is to uphold this tradition and continue making the most handsome, comfortable and durable shoes we can.” In the art of shoemaking, there are a total of eight processes that Loake go through to complete each shoe. The first stage is clicking (or cutting), the name given to the process of cutting the leather sec- tions of the shoe uppers. The name ‘clicking’ is derived from the noise that is made when the blade of the knife is removed from the leather when this is done by hand. Following this, the various sections of the shoe upper are stitched together, known as ‘closing’. “There are many operations carried out at this stage. For example, the thickness of the leather is ‘skived’ (reduced) to avoid bulkiness and the edges of the leather are stained, seared or folded to improve appearance.” Next the shoe upper is pulled over the ‘last’ and attached to the insole at the toe, sides a n d s e a t . Before this is applied, t h e