Inside Red Wing Shoes: discovering the brand

Some time ago in this blog we dedicated an article to Red Wing work boots, one of the best American brands. We at Corbeto’s are Red Wing Heritage authorized dealers, the Red Wing Shoes production line for the European market. Durable and resistant but elegant and pleasant boots for the feet. Made to resist the hardest work, but also designed to our feet not carrying all the charge.

As we explained in that article, one of the reasons why Red Wing stands out is because continues using the same production process than when started at beginnings of the 19th Century. Precisely because of that, we would like to take a little tour to Red Wing Shoes factory located at Red Wing, Minnesota. An incredible experience that combines a journey back to the past with an eye in American footwear future.

The S. B. Foot Tanning Company leather tannery

All starts in the other side of the city at S. B. Foot Tanning Company leather tannery that Red Wing Shoes acquired in 1986. There, high quality American cow hides arrive to the platform for being smooth out, tanned and dried in a large variety of colors and textures.

After that, the pieces of leather and moved across Red Wing city to reach boot’s factory. There, the different raw materials such as cow hides, polished strings and laces are stocked.

Arriving to the factory, this time we won’t be visiting Red Wing boots’ production process that already explained in the previous article. Today we’re going to show you a very special department: boot’s repair shop.

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Red Wing Shoes repair shop

Minnesota’s brand goal is using high quality materials and investing the necessary time and money in the handcrafting footwear to create a durable and resistant product. Red Wing boots last long time indeed. But wear is inevitable. And when that happens and require a repair, they visit Red Wing Shoes repair shop.

It’s a small section off the factory. There, boots from customers all around the world arrive and the repair shop team restores about thirty-five to forty pairs of boots every day. As Steve Spencer, Red Wing Heritage general manager explains, “Average waiting time to repair a pair of boots is approximately three weeks”.

One of the most common works consist in repairing the upper leather in some of the toughest boots with steel toe. At the repair shop, outsole’s upper part is detached to stretch the existing upper leather or completely replace it. Other usual tasks are outsole replacing, eyelets and hooks changing and restore worn-out sewings (something that very rarely occurs thanks to the waxed triple sewings).

A new way of art

It’s true that worn-out boots can be brought to any shoemaker. But it’s also true that the things that can be restored in this repair shop are absolutely amazing. Shabby and dirty boots arrive, in a state that most of the people would consider throw them away. And some weeks later they leave the repair store brilliant and (almost) new.

Furthermore, if the first time they left the factory weren’t much more than a pair of very well crafted quality boots. At their return to the repair shop they have transformed. And the thing is that there aren’t two pairs at repair shop to be the same. Each user has reflected in them his special relation with the boots.

 

Red Wing Boots at Corbeto’s

Since our beginnings, at Corbeto’s Boots we’ve bet by selling high quality footwear, with a handcrafted production process that had it’s own character, so, it was almost inevitable for Red Wing and Corbeto’s to met in their paths. Since years ago, as Red Wing Shoes authorized dealer in Barcelona, we offer our customers brand’s most iconic models such as the Classic Moc or Iron Ranger, in addition to the latest novelties and any special request our customers may have in regards Red Wing Heritage line.

Tanto en nuestro local de Las Ramblas como en nuestra tienda online tienes la oportunidad de hacerte con unas botas Red Wing, las botas que, en 1905 iniciaron el estándar de excelencia en el mundo de la bota de trabajo americana. Ven a descubrir los nuevos modelos de la línea Red Wing Heritage, basada en los modelos originales de la marca.

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