Church’s was founded in 1873 by Thomas Church and his three sons Alfred, William and Thomas Jr. in Northampton. Completely hand made by specialized craftsmen, it still takes up to eight weeks to produce a pair of Church’s shoes, each undergoing over 250 detailed manual operations before they leave the factory. Possibly only trumphed by John Lobb, makers of gentlemens shoes and boots since 1866 in London and 1902 in Paris (owned now by the Hermès Group). They have a store very conveniently close to the Hermès flagship store in central Paris and have featured in several James Bond movies. John Lobb began as a young man as an apprentice bootmaker and following a successful period in Australia making boots for the miners of the gold rush, returned to London to where he set up his first shop on Regent Street in 1866.
RM Williams
Reginald Murray Williams was an Australian bushman and entrepreneur who rose from a swagman, to a millionaire and became best known for creating an Australian style of bushwear recognised world wide. I did get the chance to meet him many years ago before he passed away in November 2003. His most successful products were handcrafted (mostly elastic side) riding boots, with the unique feature of all being one piece of leather and stitched up the back. With autumn in full swing, there is nothing more comfortable than throwing on a pair of RM's with your favourite pair of jeans. Plus it always makes me feel slightly less home-sick.
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