A Closer Look with No.One

LA based shoe brand/atelier No One always do an impeccable job of showcasing their detailed shoe-making processes.
This time they’ve broken down they’re heel counter construction. Generally made from some type of moulded TPU, No One actually mould VegTan leather for their counters.

See the full process, below.
 

Handful of heel counters. This invisible part of the shoe plays an important role in providing structure and form. The standard material for this component is some type of thermo plastic that can easily be molded. Of course we cant do anything the easy way and use a molded piece of VegTan leather for our heel counters.
 

This is showing where the heel counter sits, not surprisingly it sits on the heel. Thats a piece of 3.5 oz leather that has been cut and hand the edges machine skived.
 

After machine skiving we follow up with hand skiving to get that less then 1mm edge we like.
 

Next we take the counter and nail it onto the last so it can mold to the contours of the last. This will give the shoe the nice curves around the heel area and cup the ankle for the ergonomic win.
 

The heel counter is set on the last and now will let it cure in the California sun for awhile.
 

The end result – never seen always felt.
 
Via pussfoott2a http://www.rssmix.com/