Shoe craftsmanship

Craftsmanship thrives on the experience of people who love what they do. Who use their knowledge and skills to make every product unique. In our Think! shoe factories, well-trained employees produce each shoe by hand in up to 200 steps.

For all those with awareness.

Behind every product, there’s a story. How it is told is jointly defined by companies as well as consumers. Who manufactures a product? Where and how do they produce it? How fair and eco-friendly is the production process?

 Think! Shoes tell the story of people with passion, heart and soul who carry on figuring something out until they are satisfied with the result. It is about excellently qualified and experienced employees who craft each shoe by hand in up to 200 steps with meticulousness, enthusiasm and individuality. Sustainability means treating our environment and our resources responsibly. Granted, this is sometimes challenging but always worthwhile.

 Keeping the tradition of shoemaking alive is also a worthwhile endeavour; every year, we at Think! train at least one vocational trainee in the art of shoemaking at our site in Kopfing. This is even more important considering that in the whole of Austria, only a maximum of ten people per year qualify in this craft.

“We dedicate our shoes to all those who let joy into their lives and have the courage to be themselves.“

Martin Koller, Think! founder

Shoe making - step by step

How are shoes made? A look behind the scenes in our workshops in Kopfing, Upper Austria: let's follow the manufacturing process of a shoe – from its design to the point when it is packaged and ready for dispatch to a shop.

Design

Everything starts with an initial sketch, not only of the basic shape but also including any special details. With the aid of a last model, we check whether the proportions are right and whether the design can be realised. The individual components needed are drawn onto a basic model, recorded digitally and calculated for each required size. This data is then used to make the cutting dies for the next production step.

Cutting

The individual parts of the shoe are die cut from large leather hides, and readied for being stitched together with the aid of paper templates. All future seams are marked with a silver pen.

Sharpening

Some of the outer edges of the leather have to be "sharpened" (shaved) off with a machine, i.e. flattened. This is important to ensure that nothing overlaps when they are sewn together – which might cause the shoe to pinch. Some of the outer edges are reinforced ("backed") with thin fabric ribbons to equip the shoe for all adventures it might experience. Now a layer of fabric made from 100% cotton is ironed onto the reinforced and sharpened leather parts. This ensures that they remain flexible and supple for a long time to come, but retain their original shape.

Closing

Closing means that the individual leather parts are now stitched, or sewn, together; any decorative stitching is also applied at this point.

Lining insertion

The prepared inner lining, which also consists of several individual pieces, is glued onto the leather upper. They are held together in this way only temporarily, and will be stitched together later on to create the finished upper of the shoe from these two separate parts.

Edge trimming

The edge trimming machine takes care of two steps at the same time: the inner lining is stitched onto the outer lining and attached permanently. The edges of the inner lining therefore have to be trimmed, i.e. a vibrating cutter removes any surplus lining leather.

Laminatiing & heels

To quote Aristotle, it's all about a good balance between flexibility and stability. A fabric-covered plastic part is inserted into the shoe's toe cap. It adapts to the strain when the shoe is worn and at the same time always returns to its original shape. The inner lining is glued to the leather toe cap with latex milk. At the heel, a counter is inserted between the upper leather and the inner lining. This ensures that the shoe firmly adheres to the foot.

Lasting

Now it's time for the lasting. The midsole, which sits between the outer and the inner sole, is attached to the respective last. The upper and the sole are pulled over the last, which gives the shoe its individual shape. The clamping machine stretches the upper leather tightly across the last and automatically glues the midsole to the upper's protruding leather. When the heel is clamped, the heel end is also stretched over the last, glued and attached to the midsole with nails.

Sanding & scouring

Before the rubber sole is attached, any surplus leather as a result of the tightening process is removed from the bottom of the shoe. First of all, the last is pre-sanded and the leather is scoured so that the adhesive can permeate the fibres as deeply as possible later on.

Soling

At last, everything is put together. A suitable adhesive is brushed onto the last and the sole and briefly left to dry before both is heated and pressed together firmly. In the sole press, the sole is permanently attached to the last with the aid of negative pressure. Rien ne va plus! A shoe that will be enjoyed for a long time to come.

Removing of the last

Before the last can be taken off, any potential adhesive residues must be removed from the shoe. This is done with a rotating horsehair brush.

Finishing

For the perfect finish, the shoe is heated in the "shoe room" by means of hot air to burn away even the smallest leather or adhesive residues. Any edges that might cause the shoe to pinch later on are simply flattened with a hammer. Finally, the shoe is polished with shoe cream and equipped with an insole. That's it: the shoe is wrapped in tissue paper and packaged – and ready to go on its first long journey.