"I don't really need an artisinal flatscreen TV. But I need to see artisans, and feel like one, too." -- S. Cottage
Sippican tracked down this video covering the area of my recent Favorite Shoes: Better Than New | Re-crafting the Red Wing 875 @ AMERICAN DIGEST
"When I restitch a shoe I try to hit all of the same holes with the thread."
Thanks much for letting me in on this info. I have a pair of 30 year old Red Wing boots. I don't wear them much because soles and heels look much like they did in one of those "before" pictures from earlier essay. Uppers, though, feel like putting on a favorite baseball glove, only for my feet. Being able to wear them again regularly will be a treat.
Posted by: stephen b at January 30, 2012 12:30 PMI have brother in law out in Utah that for thirty odd years now has supported himself and a large family by repairing work and cowboy boots that would by any sensible person be considered beyond recovery.....thrifty people in small town Utah.
Posted by: Thud at January 30, 2012 2:18 PMThanks for this video. Redwing is as American as you can get. In my 20's I was an iron worker. The ONLY shoe to wear were Redwing "Irish Setters". I have several pair still in the garage. But now.. at 50 I am sending them back in to get repaired.
If I were running for President, I would show this video at every stop and then after it was over .. I would say...
America is now a service and information technologies county... Then I would scream .. at the top of my lungs...
BULL SHIT!!!!!
Americans build things. We work. We LOVE to work. We love excellence in all things.
Free up energy leases. Put men back to work at jobs they can be proud of. Rebuild our infrastructure. Sell the world American goods.. American excellence.
If you want stimulus .. claim Imminent Domain on abandoned steel mills and factories. Offer tax free zones for employers in the raw goods and capital equipment industries and sell the factories back to the companies who pledge to actually build something.. not harvest the capital in the name of capitalism. We have had enough of vampire capitalism and vampire unionism and vampire entitlement programs..
Sorry for the rant.. but its your fault by inspiring me in the innate hardiness and excellence in the American worker...
Keep it up.. You have an amazing voice and your readers treasure your sense of events.. its a gift..
Thank you..
Bill Henry
Posted by: Bill Henry at January 30, 2012 7:15 PMFirst pair of work boots were Red Wing Irish Setters when I was 8 years old. The size 12 was too big, but I grew into them and loved them until they wore out.
Posted by: edaddy at January 30, 2012 7:50 PMI remember my Dad taking me with him when he went to the old shoemaker in town and I loved the smells in the shop. This video touched me to know that there are still real craftsmen who take pride in their work (as opposed to the ones pretending at tourist/historical villages). We live in such a throw-away world now.
Posted by: Sara (Pal2Pal) at January 30, 2012 9:55 PMSlightly OT, but if you're ever in the area, Red Wing (Minnesota) is a nice town to visit for the day. Pedestrian downtown, old restored train depot, a couple of antique malls, restored old hotel (St. James) and plenty of old houses to ogle. Don't know if they have a shoe plant tour, but wouldn't be surprised.
Posted by: Soviet of Washington at January 31, 2012 9:03 AMI was looking at some Redwing shoes for women at Amazon, and was disappointed to learn that they are made in China!
Posted by: Jewel at January 31, 2012 7:53 PMmakes me want to buy a pair.
Posted by: pdwalker at February 4, 2012 6:04 AM"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated to combat spam and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.
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