Central Europe has been blessed with a strong shoemaker craft. I think it is fair to say that countries like Austria, Hungary and Poland have refined the art of shoemaking to no lesser extent than the English.
However, something is happening. The post WWII masters are getting old, very old. Among four shoemakers in the city of Warsaw, three are at least 80 years old. Moreover, they don’t have an apprentice. When they close, their shop will close.
It leaves the city with Jan Kielman, a fine shoemaker, but a single shop cannot carry a tradition in itself.
Shoemaking by hand is a sunset business in Warsaw.
Above fresh shots from Bruno Kaminski’s workshop.
Source: The Journal of Style
Ville says
I’m really looking forward to your comments and experiences with Jan Kielman. There’s very little info online, but their example pairs look wonderful.