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Wear a unique piece, made
for you.
- +39 348 253 8578
- mariodoni@mariodoni.it
- Via Prov. Francesca 44/20 56020 Santa Maria a Monte (PI)
Works
Design: the seed
The design of a handmade sandal begins with an idea, often your idea that we begin to give shape to with pen and paper.
We then evaluate thicknesses, distances and lines and with vegetable leather we begin to baste the prototype.
At this point, one by one we resolve doubts and problems that we encounter and define every single detail piece by piece.
Your idea has become a series of different cards, the design is finished and the next phase begins.
Cut
Cutting is a delicate phase that requires an eye and precision, here the older ones do it, who with just one glance, practically like a computer, look at the leather and visualize how to position the cards for cutting. On the work table, they pass their hands over the leather, they caress it and the leather reveals all its history, scratches, cuts and markings and the cutter fits the pieces together to avoid the points with defects that would compromise the perfect outcome of the sandal or bag.
Any creation made with vegetable tanned leather will never have the patinated perfection but, the beauty and uniqueness of the product will be an element that will never cease to amaze.
Assembly
Now the pieces are cut, the puzzle begins to come together, the hands intertwine the laces and thread them one after the other, sometimes there are two pieces, other times there are 15 or more.
In this phase, precision and knowledge of the model are required, often we do not go by memory but follow the drawing step by step. At the end of this process, the sandal is a set of strips of leather that seems to have no shape.
Mounting
The mounting phase begins with a last, the assembled sandal is inserted as if it were the foot and the assembler, one piece after another “pulls” the laces and at the end of this operation the sandal seems finished. Glue, brushes, oven, press and hammer, are the tools that allow the assembler to get to “unmold” that is to remove the sandal from the last, the fruit of the seed from which we started.
Color and Finish
At this point, we color the sandal by hand, in the garment and wait patiently for its shades to be revealed as it dries.
With creams and waxes we refine the upper, sole and insoles, we polish the edge of the sole.
The sandal is finally ready. Reading this story it seems that everything has passed in just a few minutes but in reality a few days have passed from start to finish. A sandal in leather and vegetable-tanned leather is not a “fast” product, it is a slow product, a sustainable product made with the time it takes to last over time.
Boxing
We package the sandals with a reusable and recyclable cardboard box that will be delivered to your home by express courier.
At this point, you will be the one to unwrap and open the box and begin the real journey that the sandals will begin, traveling with you along roads, paths and every route you decide on, day after day.