Behind every pair there are at least two workshops and no machine capable of doing everything on its own. Here is how each pair comes to life.
When an order arrives through our website, the ciabattina does not yet exist. What exists is a choice: a model, a size, a type of wood, a fabric and a heel. From there, the process begins, passing through two or three different pairs of hands before the finished pair is shipped.
The sole: beechwood
It starts with the sole. It is made of beechwood, available in a light or dark finish, and is crafted by a traditional Italian clog workshop we have been working with for years. Beech has always been the traditional wood used for clogs: it is compact, relatively light for its density, resistant to moisture and easy to sand and smooth. The workshop shapes the sole according to the model and size and then finishes it by hand. A non-slip sole is applied underneath, because a ciabattina is designed to be worn in the city too, not only at home or by the sea.
The upper
Upper is the part that crosses the foot, and it is what gives each pair its personality. It can be made from leather, fabric, raffia, denim, lace, pony hair or lurex. Many of the fabrics we use are remnants: upholstery offcuts, furnishing fabrics left at the end of a roll and small pieces of leather. It is a habit that comes from our family upholstery workshop, where nothing was ever thrown away. The upper is cut, lined and sewn by a seamstress before moving on to the assembly stage.
Assembly
At this stage, the upper is attached to the wooden sole using traditional shoemaker’s nails, one by one. The tension is adjusted so that the foot fits comfortably without feeling tight. This is a step that cannot be standardised for mass production: every combination of fabric and wood behaves differently and needs to be adjusted by hand. Finally, the pair is inspected, the wood is cleaned and the shoes are packaged.
How long does it take?
Usually, just a few working days from the order to shipment. Timing depends on the model and on how many pairs are being worked on in the workshops at that particular moment. We coordinate the process through a platform we developed specifically for this purpose: the order comes in, it is assigned to the artisan and we can see exactly what stage of production it has reached. But the hands doing the work are still those of real people, in their workshops, with a workbench and a hammer.
If you ever visit our showroom, ask us to show you a raw wooden sole next to a finished one. It explains the process better than any description ever could.