Materials
Tanneries / Merchants
Leathers are carefully sourced from reputable accredited Italian and British tanneries that work to high ethical and environmental standards, among these are A & A. Crack & Sons, Badalassi Carlo and C. F. Stead. As a maker I am blessed to use these fabulously precious materials in my workshop.
I specialise in artisan leathers simply because they offer instant aged beauty. Expect perfect imperfections throughout. Like knots & grain in real wood, these materials are a canvas of their origin, with marks, wrinkles & scratches worked into each item, embracing the hides individuality to create a unique product which develops rich patina with use.
Current Swatch for MADE TO ORDER
Chosen to compliment each other perfectly, the 'colour pairs' offer a solution to every wardrobe scheme. The top colour is used for the main uppers, second colour (shown beneath) for backs & decoration if applicable. If you prefer a DIFFERENT COMBINATION please tell me in the 'Notes' box at checkout.
Barefoot comfort soling
I believe that your shoes should feel just like slippers, all day, every day, and our shoes do just that. After a few wears the leathers will soften and become supple and mellow. There is no plastic inside your Fairysteps shoes! The leather insoles will allow your foot to bed into the sole creating its own unique cradle, offering glove like comfort.
Fairysteps use Vibram, a durable, highly flexible, lightweight, cushioned, soling made in Italy. Four profiles, each distinctive in their own way. FLEX ZERO DROP soling offers an excellent level of bounciness and protection yet still gives a sense of grounding. FLEX WITH HEEL same super comfy material as Zero Drop but with additional layer at the heel. CHUNKY WEDGE that classic vibram sole as seen on famous Redwing boots, and last but not least CHUNKY CLEATED. When the time comes your shoes can be resoled by your local cobbler thus extending the life of your beloveds and avoiding landfill sites.
Why barefoot comfort & not just barefoot?
The footbed on Fairysteps shoes is both generous and supremely comfy, so I call them barefoot comfort, but they arent going to be like some other 100% barefoot shoes with the incredibly wide toe box and ultra thin sole.
Adhesives & Threads
The adhesives I use are the lowest in nasty chemicals (toluene and MEK free) I could find whilst still being highly effective. Stitching threads are British made, superior quality, rot proof and abrasive resistant. My old sewing machines are terribly fussy, they only like to sew with the best.
