First of all we do not want to have any ready-made product, so from the beginning we did not focus on the speed of processing the order, but on time, taking more time to produce it, everything is made only at the customer’s request.
Today this way of producing is starting to go out of fashion and has become an ethical choice (it is known as “made to order”) but we have been doing it for over 15 years! In an era when everything flows fast and must reach the consumer quickly, we started this adventure with the creation of men’s sandals and women’s sandals, choosing different paths to enhance our creations.
Today it has also become an ethical choice (honestly at the beginning it was not the main reason), but it suits us perfectly because it respects our philosophy of using materials that are durable over time, repairable and beyond fashion. However, this meant choosing a more difficult working method. In fact, all the leather we use is natural, unfinished, and is colored by us when the product is finished.
Considering that most of the products and leathers in circulation are industrially colored and therefore it is much more possible to cover the defects in a living material such as leather, having made a different choice than usual exposes us to risks and greater difficulty. Furthermore, we use a penetrating coloring method, which instead of covering highlights even more those that are defects for the fashion system, but which for us are the characteristics of real leather.
There is a risk because ultimately Mario Doni sandals must be sold and the most important judgment is that of the customer. Are the qualities of leather for us understood and accepted by our customers? Will the nuances, the different shades of color, the transparency of the color, the exaltation of the grain and the daily life of the leather be accepted in an increasingly standardized market where all products must be identical? We do not even have two pairs alike even if made with the same color, the absorption is different, time affects (always the weather…both meteorological and duration), the point where it was cut can change.
All this contributes to making a unique product.
Yes, a unique product, because the other basic idea was to want to make our leather sandals as unique as possible and therefore customizable.
This was possible by creating a configurator, but also accepting changes on existing models or photos and model drawings new to develop.
Our product does not have to be standard, but to come out of pre-arranged schemes and if this happens with the help and suggestions of our customers even better.
