In this episode Katie chats to Guy West, fellow Cordwainer and judge for the annual Cordwainer Footwear Awards. He is an entrepreneur, co-founder and designer alongside Mark Jeffery of established brand Jeffery-West. A footwear brand that has a worldwide reputation in offering individual, highly distinctive men’s footwear.

Offering insights to Guy’s personal and professional life from kite surfing to craftmanship, they discuss his inspiration heroes and style influences, including sub-culture trends, DIY and vintage fashion.

Growing up near Northampton it’s not surprising that he ended up making shoes. Listen to hear how he and Mark Jeffery went about creating their own label, crafting goodyear welted shoes for the stars, ranging from David Bowie and Tom Jones to Zac Efron.

Katie and Guy discuss what goes into good craftsmanship, sustainability and signature style. How Jeffery-West distinguishes its brand through story telling, as well as the finer points of seasonal directions of collections, collaborations and the logistics of running a business from being on the shop floor to crafting the product.

They make the case for a return to proper retail experience vs the online trends. The thrill of opening your first London, then New York shop and the smell of leather.

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This podcast is produced by Audio Coast