Meet the Makers
The People Who Make Your Shoes
Every shoe we make is built by hand in our Northampton factory. Generations of the Woodford family have been making shoes here, and many of our team come from shoemaking families themselves. Some have been here for over twenty years. Some came in through apprenticeships. Some came in straight from school at fifteen.
They have their own ways of getting into the trade and their own corners of the workshop. Whether new to the team or twenty years in, they all continue to learn and grow. The brand and the people behind it are part of the same story. Meet the Makers is where we share theirs—a growing archive of the team in Northampton, in their own words and on camera.
#001: Meet Chris
Fifth generation Northampton shoemaker. Pattern cutter for 30 years. The hand behind every Crown design, and the voice on the other end of a fair few customer calls. Also, as it happens, owner of Crown.
#002: Meet Diane
Northampton shoemaker since the age of 15. Twenty-eight years at Church's, then over to us. Our utility machinist, with a soft spot for the natural oils of Chromexcel and Cordovan, and the only one with a pub at the end of her garden.
#003: Meet Lee
Joined the factory in 2003, fresh out of school. Third generation shoemaker, with his brother in the factory too. Mostly lasting, with a hand in just about every other part of the room. Drives a 1989 Camaro IROC-Z28.
#004: Meet Ollie
Apprenticed in 2014, still here. Runs the finishing room and our resoling service. Northampton born and bred, with a Lego room at home, and keeps a pinned map of every country a Crown shoe has shipped to.
