Northampton has been making the world's finest shoes for centuries. We think it still does. And judging by the people who find their way to us, from across the country and across the world, we are not alone in that view.
Thanks to your continued support, we have recently taken on a new apprentice. Every pair you buy helps us grow, and growing means we can bring new people into the trade, teach them from the ground-up and keep these skills alive in the town that built them. That is the most rewarding part of what we are trying to create here. A craft worth preserving, and enough belief from enough people to make it possible.
Which felt like exactly the right moment to introduce you to another member of the team.
Team Member:
Ollie
Job Title:
Quality Control, Finishing Room, Side-Wall Stitcher
Hi Ollie. Please tell us how you became part of Team Crown
I knew someone in the footwear industry who heard there was a role going and encouraged me to apply. That was 2014. Crown was one unit back then, about half a floor. The first thing I did was cement soles and insoles. These days my main role is quality control and side-wall stitching, which includes our resoling service. Like most people here I have been trained across a lot of the factory processes over the years.
What was your training like?
I came in through an apprenticeship scheme via the job centre. They sorted the induction and health and safety side of things, then Chris took me under his wing. And I have been here ever since.
Why Crown?
Honestly, the basic need was a job. But it stood out straight away. I liked that it was small. I did not want to get lost in a big company. Small, family run. That appealed.
How have you seen Crown Northampton evolve?
When I started we were making boxing boots, veggie shoes, jazz shoes - wholesale to Japan. Every day was different in terms of what was coming through the factory, which I liked. Now every pair is made for one specific person, sent out direct from us in Northampton. It does not exist until someone asks for it. It is not going to end up discounted somewhere. It is going straight to the person it was made for. That is a good feeling.
I have been here since the beginning of Crown as it is now. The first shoes Chris made were the Racecourse and the Abington, both named after areas associated with Northampton. All our shoe designs follow that same idea. The Racecourse has since gone, but the Abington is still being made. The team has roughly doubled since I joined, and we have gone from one unit to four. I was also the designated customer service team back then, purely because I was the one who answered the phone. We have a dedicated in-factory customer service team now, which is a different world entirely.
What makes Crown, Crown?
The fact that we can make almost anything. Different leathers, different constructions, different things. I like the minimalist element. And everyone here knows each other well. Ideas and opinions get listened to. There is no real hierarchy. We are all equal.
Tell us a bit about what it is like in the finishing room at Crown.
Every pair comes through me before it goes out. These are made to order shoes and people have waited a good while for them, so I do not want to be the one that lets something slip through that should not have.
The thing is, everything we use is natural. Leather has grain, marks, tones that vary across the hide. That is just what leather is. A crucial part of my job is knowing the difference between something that is part of the material, and an actual fault.
These are also handmade shoes. On more uniform leathers pairs can be very consistent, but on natural materials like cordovan or Buffalo no two are identical. Thousands of pairs have come through this workbench over fourteen years and you just develop a feel for what is right and what is not. I do take pride in having that knowledge. Not everyone has it.
Which leathers do you enjoy working with most in the finishing room?
Cordovan, without question. It dries out, it picks up scratches, and handling within the factory shows up on it. Getting it looking its best before it goes out takes time and attention. When you know the quality and the value of the leather, you want it to be as close to perfect as possible.
Chromexcel is one I enjoy too. I like the variety of colours, and it is forgiving. Marks picked up during the handmaking process come out easily. Sometimes it just needs a brush before it goes off.
Ollie hand-stitching a new sole onto an Upton Wholecut Sneaker.
Tell us about the resoling service
I love seeing a shoe come back to life. Every pair that comes in for a resole has a story. You can see how it has been worn, how the leather has moved and settled. That is the whole point of making something this way. We make it a shoe, the customer then makes it their own. Every Crown shoe we make can be resoled, and I think that says a lot about how well we build them.
The oldest Crown shoe I have resoled was a green pair that had originally shipped out nine years ago. We knew because it still had Chris's handwriting inside it, from the early days when he did everything himself. That was a nice moment. The machinists do that job now, but seeing his old handwriting in there felt like the shoe had come full circle.
Find out more about our resoling service
We have noticed a map with pins at your workbench. Tell us more...
When we moved from wholesale to selling direct to customers, the shoes started going everywhere. I just started adding a pin for every new country I shipped to. It is one of those simple things that is genuinely satisfying, sticking a new pin in.
Somalia, Ivory Coast, Mongolia, Guam, Réunion. Shoes from little old Northampton ending up all over the world. I think that is pretty cool.
5 years of graft. Ollie's Overstone Derbies have endured some challenges over time.
What is your personal style, and does it involve Crown footwear?
I am a white trainer person. They go with everything. Those shoes in the photo are my Overstone Derbies. Covered in sole dye and polish from the finishing room, but I will wear them until they fall apart. I keep a cleaner pair for the pub. When I need to smarten up for a wedding or something like that, I go to my white Harlestone Hand Stitch. That is the one.
For smarter occasions, Ollie always turns to his white veg tan Harlestone Hand Stitch Derbies.
What do you enjoy most about working here?
Being consulted. Because of the number of shoes that have passed through my hands over fourteen years, I get asked for input on design and decisions. I also like to keep a close eye on what is happening in the wider world of shoes, which means I work alongside the marketing and social side of things too. It keeps it interesting.
Pride of place: Ollie's Lego collection underlines his passion for considered creativity.
Tell us about life outside of work
I have a Lego room at home, which probably tells you everything you need to know. Building something piece by piece, it is my form of meditation. A creative outlet that has nothing to do with shoes, which I think is important.
I socialise a lot. It gives me energy. My favourite place is the Black Prince on Abington Square, one of those pubs that has everything. Live music, real ales, a garden stage in the summer. I’m Northampton born and bred, and it is exactly the kind of place that makes you glad to be from here.
I live right next to the Artizan pub on Artizan Road. That is also where the Artizan gets its name, our Belgian slipper. The road used to have shoe factories on it. There is shoe history everywhere around here, where I walk, where I work. I remember being taught about it at school. Crown feels a bit different to the other factories though. More modern in design, still using traditional making methods. Being part of a place that is keeping that alive is something I am genuinely proud of.
Ollie outside 'The Artizan' — a local Northampton public house that inspired the name for Crown Northampton's very own Artizan Belgian Slipper.
Ollie put together our care product bundles, matching the right products to each leather based on years of handling them in the finishing room. You can find them on the website.
Thank you Ollie. Fourteen years in and still pinning new countries on the map. Here is to the next fourteen.
