The Art of Traditional Shoe Making
We have made playfulness and craftmanship the heart of Vibys brand. Each Vibys shoe is carefully hand finished ensuring that every pair is the epitome of perfection.
Discover how we bring our intricate designs to life in the most beautiful way possible. The following is a brief summary of the steps involved in the making of a pair of Vibys handmade shoes.
Dreaming It Up and Being Creative
At Vibys, each design starts with a shoe sketch, this is our way of visual brainstorming. This process takes into consideration the aesthetic language of the shoe, as well as the functional solutions and materials which could be applied to the designs. We draw inspiration from children's books, childhood memories and the spirit and energy of kids in general to sketch out styles and build the collections.
We care and use sustainable design practices - carefully handpicked residual leather from leather industry, mostly vegetable-tanned leather for lining, reclaimed materials (vintage lace, beads etc), zero-waste pattern pieces and no glue and solvents focusing on sewing instead.
Making the Last
Using the design sketches, our team develops the last, a mould with the shape of the child's foot which defines the shape and comfort of the finished shoe and provides us the basis for building the shoe around.
Pattern Making and Cutting
To make patterns, we cover a selected last in paper tape and draw a sketch of three dimensional pattern onto it with a graphite pencil. From the sketch, we will reproduce the upper and the sole patterns. Leather and fabric is then hand cut from pattern pieces.
The pattern is first realized for a specific size, called the base. Several bases are needed to create a range of sizes, the morphology of the foot evolving a lot the first few years. Each of these bases will have to go through the last drawing and the pattern cutting.
Embroidering and Stitching
The embroidered and beaded details that are integral to Vibys brand delight with their delicate, handmade charm but are the most work-consuming step of our shoe making process. Love is in the details at Vibys.
When leather upper has been all lovingly hand beaded and embroidered, the leather and lining are stitched together on our antique Singer sewing machine and compose the outer part of the shoe. The embroidering, beading and stitching requires great precision and concentration to guarantee high quality results.
Lasting
When we make pre-walker and early walker styles, then the upper part of the shoe is attached to the leather sole by stitching and then lasted together.
When we make walker styles with rubber or leather soles, then the upper is assembled on a last. The leather upper and the insole is shaped around a last and glued to the outsole that is made from rubber or leather.
Lasted shoes are placed to rest for a few days to allow them to take their final shape.
Finishing Touches
After the lasts have been removed from the shoes, the shoes are cleaned and meticulously checked that they do not have any imperfection. Then, every shoe pair is carefully filled and wrapped with tissue paper and put in its dust bag to keep is safe.
