【#04】Making of Shoes - Heels

I was fascinated by beautiful heels and fell in love with shoes at first sight.

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As I introduced in the previous STORIES , in the shoe industry where the division of labor is thorough, there are "heel shops" that specialize only in heels, which are an indispensable part of women's shoes. .

Seeking the ideal heel

Kaneko Co. , Ltd. is a company that deals mainly with heels, shoe wooden patterns and insoles. At the showroom in Asakusa that I visited this time, heels are lined up by height.

row of heels

It is said that there are thousands of samples arranged in an orderly manner, and it is a masterpiece variation.

Heel

Measure the height of the shoe tree with a special scale, and first find out what heel height you can use. 7 cm in this case.

measure the height of the tree

From the heels of the corresponding height, choose the one that matches the image of the design. It doesn't mean that you can simply use it if the heel height matches, but if the shape, size, angle, etc. of the heel do not match the wooden pattern, the heel cannot be used. Finding the ideal heel from this huge number of heel samples every season is also a fun task.

Sellenatela has three points of commitment.

  • Form when viewed from the side - Does it match the image of the design?
  • The form when viewed from behind - Is the line from the bottom of the wooden pattern beautiful? Are you in balance?
  • Form when viewed from the back - Is the shape of the heel when viewed from the bottom of the shoe well-balanced?

If you can't find a heel that matches the image of the design, you can also make an original heel. Heel selection is a very important process in order to make shoes that look beautiful from any angle.

Flexibility leads to strength

So how is the heel made? All heels made from these trees are wooden models that are the prototype of heels. It is made by carving wood.

heel mock

This wooden model is molded into a metal mold called a mold, and the heel material is poured into it to complete the heel.

metal mold

A heel is an important part that supports the feet of a beautiful woman. The point of a good heel is suppleness, because if you try to make it too hard, it will break. If they were made in China, they would be able to cut the cost by about 1/3. Kaneko has its own factory in Sano City, Tochigi Prefecture, and manufactures based there.

This is the ever-popular pumps, CHARLOT [BLACK GLITTER] glitter heels. Finished heels like this are wrapped in leather by a shoe maker like Apollo, which I introduced last time , and then painted by a specialist, and then attached to the shoe itself.

CHARLOT [BLACK GLITTER] heels finished with heel rolls

Interview cooperation: Kaneko Co., Ltd.

Making of Shoes ~Sellenatela's shoe making~ Next time will be the last time. We will introduce the story of a leather wholesaler who handles leather, which is indispensable for shoes. looking forward to.

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