Our craft

The production of our shoes hasn't changed since 1923. Everything is still made by hand. Each shoe is unique. A craftsmanship we are proud of. All to maintain the high quality and comfortable fit.

First, both the upper leather and the sole material are punched. Leather, fabric and sole material are cut out using punch knives and sometimes by hand. The leather then needs to be processed in several steps to get the right thickness by splitting and cutting the parts. Now the leather is also embossed with our Docksta brand and the soles with sizes. The soles may need to be roughened or treated in other ways, which is also done now. Once all the parts are punched out and prepared, it's time to sew them together. In shoemaking this is called needlepoint and is done using heavy duty sewing machines that can sew in thick leather. We sew slippers, clogs, boots and a lot of interior products and bags in our factory. The factory has a dozen different sewing machines that are used extensively for different kinds of sewing. When we make fabric shoes, we laminate the fabric onto the leather using a special laminating film to make the shoes hold their shape better. In practice, they become as durable as our other leather shoes.

When the upper part of the shoe is ready, it's time to make the bottom part. The right leathers are selected and sorted onto trolleys. Then we push the soles onto the lasts with a nailing machine and with the help of a pinning machine the upper is stapled to the sole. This is called stretching the shoe on the last or pinning. Most shoes that we buy in stores today are glued at this stage but we have chosen to keep this method of stapling as it is very durable over time. Then we trim the upper to follow the shape of the sole and using a stripper i.e. a coarser sewing machine, we sew the welt with a strong ribbon thread that attaches the upper to the sole. This is an additional reinforcement together with the staple. We can add that we have virtually never had a complaint about this construction. It is time consuming but we know it will hold up over time.

Then it's time to press on the cork lugs and bottom soles. On our boots, we also make our own cold insulating insoles that are fitted at this stage. The soles should then be milled and sanded to achieve the desired end result. Finally, it's time for de-sanding, polishing, inlaying the hollow foot and putting on the heel caps. Before we put our shoes into boxes, we have a final quality check. A pair of slippers involves about 30 operations and boots even more. We know that it takes time to make good shoes and we have chosen to work with quality. We hope that you, the customer, will feel as proud of your new shoes as we do here at the factory in Docksta.