COMMON Magazine Europe - SPRING 2017

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COMMON//SPRING 2017// WALK WITH CONFIDENCE CO-FOUNDER OF THOMAS BIRD SHOES, ADAM TALKS TO US ABOUT FINDING A GOOD PAIR OF SHOES By Azhar Ahmad Tell us a bit about yourself and your role in the company. I am one of the co-founders of Thomas Bird. I've always loved shoes. My main role in Thomas Bird is marketing and listening to what our customers tell us. And I'm always keen to pitch in ideas with our designers as to which new styles and colours go into production next. What drove you to be in the fashion industry, especially in the shoemaking business? The team behind Thomas Bird had worked behind the scenes for other top end footwear brands, some for over 30 years. We had spent a lot of time helping to put collections together for other brands, including some well known English and Italian names. We had learnt about design, manufacturing, quality control and marketing. And we had worked with some great factories In the UK, and Italy. Finally we got together and said 'why not put together a collection that we want to see?'. Set up the brand that WE want - beautiful design and quality, at a price that is within reach of more people. I suppose we were our own first customers. When assembling a shoe, which part comes first? A shoe may be made up from ten or more pieces of leather. These are individually cut out from a large leather hide. Decoration such as broguing might be applied, and the pieces are then sewn together according to a pattern to form the shoe's 'upper'. The upper then goes onto a three dimensional 'last' to form the shape of the shoe and stitch on the sole. Finally, several stages of finishing add colour, wax and burnishing to create the final shoe. It's not a quick process and can take weeks. There is a vast difference between English and Italian style. How does Thomas Bird capture this essence and unite the two together? That is a good question. Some people associate English shoes with heavy welted soles, heavy broguing, round toes. And they see Italian as more light and sleek. Well it wasn't always so. A lot of classic designs came from the UK - oxfords, brogues, chelsea boots - and at times they have been elegant and sleek. We wanted to capture that original British essence and elegance with the fantastic quality, craftsmanship and finishing we found in Italy. Hopefully we've combined the best of both. 44
2017 SPRING//COMMON How important is a good pair shoes? What should a person look for to find ‘the one’? A good pair of shoes will make you feel good. You feel more confident. Plus they can make sense financially as they should last longer if you look after them. The leather will be better quality and you can have soles replaced over time. A good shoe will keep its looks longer and become comfortable as it adapts to you. You will want to look after them. The hard part is limiting your choices according to your budget and lifestyle. And knowing what will fit you helps. For example are you are a standard fit and suit an oxford, or do you have a higher instep and feel more comfortable in a derby? I have a favourite shoe for special occassions, a good but more sensible brogue for work, and some chukka boots for evenings and weekends. They are all really nice but I'm still searching for the one. Next on my list is a pair of chelsea boots. But which colour..? What is the best way to take care of leather shoes? First, don't over-wear them, even two days in a row. Rest them to allow moisture to evaporate, ideally on a shoe tree which will help this. Clean off any dirt first. Then we recommend shoe creams to nourish the leather, with not too much pigment , as you want to retain the original hand finished look if possible. You can add some neutral wax too if you like a higher shine. Lastly, what’s in store for you personally and professionally? What is the plan of expansion for Thomas Bird? We will continue to grow the brand and spread the word that you can buy a great pair of shoes without breaking the bank. We will continue to add more styles and colour options. There are so many possibilities. We would like one day to open a flagship shop, perhaps in London so customers could drop in and say hello if they are in the city. In reality our customers are all over the world so our delivery service needs to be smooth and efficient as possible. While our customers continue to ask us for more styles and colours, we are very happy to design and make them. Visit www.thomasbirdshoes.com 45
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