Not far from the Brockton border in the Massachusetts south shore town of West Bridgewater lives a fantastic brick-and-mortar footwear store called Asacks.
Red Wings and Chips for days
The family run footwear shop has been providing a personal touch to shoe-selling since 1974.
Rather than the newest, hottest products from your favorite brands’ catalog, Asacks is filled with factory-seconds, slightly irregulars, and selections that just may have came out of a time capsule.
ZIG-ZAG slip-ons, what?
They have more workboots for sale at a decent price than you can shake a Brannock at, and also plenty of slippers, sandals, sneakers and dress-shoes.
You never know what you’ll find on their well-stocked racks.
Browse stacks and stacks of (mostly) Chippewa and Red Wing footwear wall to wall, including many of those brands’ made-in-USA offerings.
Along with multiple widths, Asacks also has a fine selection of sizes over 13.
Dear Bigfoot, they have your size.
A size 20 pair of Red Wings
The shop itself is industrially decorated with mostly handwritten, and hand-cut signage.Sock and lace displays offer a unique selection unmatched by your average mall-style footwear shop.
You’ve got to love a place that uses a last as a paperweight.
No one manufacturer dominates Asacks. yet around the store you’ll see novelty/promotional items like Reebok chairs, Chippewa lights, this All-Star neon sign, and that supercool Asics clock.
I’ve been coming to Asacks since before cell-phones. I’ve scored various New Balances and even a pair of made-in-USA Sauconys there (many years ago).This time I walked out with a pair of American Handcrafted Chippewa 25262s in my favorite tan rodeo color for 99 bucks (reg. $150 at least). They’re labeled imperfect because of some scratches on the side, but boots are going to get scratched up anyway.
Thank YOU!
Asacks Footwear, 265 N Main St, W. Bridgewater, MA 02379
They also have a second Cape Cod location on Main Street in Buzzard’s Bay
Popdiatry would like to thank Carl Landerholm, president of the Brockton Historical Society for giving us an exclusive tour of the Brockton Shoe Museum on the last day of 2014.
A cobbler’s workbench and tool set as seen at the Brockton Shoe Museum
The museum- located 45 minutes south of Boston in Brockton Massachusetts– contains exhibits that trace the history of American shoe manufacturing with machines, products and ephemera from pre-revolution ’til Y2K. With permission, I’m sharing a few pictures.
Behold the Krippendorh Kalculator as seen at the Brockton Shoe Museum
The machine above, a Krippendorf Kalculator, was used to maximize leather surface cutting as in the manner shown below by enabling super precise measurements per piece.
The Brockton Shoe Museum is currently open twice a month (every other Sunday) or by special appointment.
The Brockton Historical Society,Inc.
216 North Pearl Street (Rte. 27)
Brockton, MA 02041
(Exit 18B off Route 24)
508-583-1039
Encased in glass, pardon the reflection-
Brockton Shoe Museum: Shoes worn by former US presidents George Bush and Gerald Ford
Among other notable donations, they have footwear displayed from four US presidents as well as ones worn by boxers Rocky Marciano and Primo Carnera.
Brockton Shoe Museum: Sneakers worn by former US presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy CarterBoxing shoe worn by champion fighter Rocky Marciano
They have a lot of Auntie Anne’s pretzel outposts at the Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey. There was also a Vans store, where I was able to get this checkered stocking pic to lead off this month’s Pop-gallery.
Drillbit heels in the deadpile outside East Village Shoe Repair in Brooklyn.
Sneaker specific pawn spots, like this one on Broadway..
Here’s one I wish I had when I wrote aboutDexter brand shoes last summer. I discovered my grandmother had a swell pair of classic made-in-USA Dexters in her closet.
Staying hydrated during long walks is important, and sometimes you’re going to want something other than plain water. Everyone has their favorite thing at Philadelphia’s bustling Reading Terminal Market eatery. I declare this as my favorite drink there: the Victory Thirst Quencher- a standout from the wonderful selection of fresh drinks at Lanc. Co. Dairy .
Have you heard of Because International– the shoe that is meant to be adjustable from size 5 to a size 12?
A still of a sketch from Vimeo.com/TobinRogers African kids try out some prototypes of adjustable size shoes. Still from Vimeo.com/TobinRogers
The creator of these wants a lasting shoe that can be adjusted according to the growth spurts of school-aged children with the use of straps and snaps. It’s a great idea. I’d be interested in seeing if it can be achieved in a non-janky manner.
Some day, touch screen devices will be able to transmit a true sense of touch. You’d be able to run your finger over this shot of the collaboration Viberg Boots did with Leffot (Manhattan) and feel the eye-catching grain of the triple bullhide.
Instagram.com/leffot
These beasts went available for pre-order on Leffot’s site Saturday. Are you on the list?
“Joe leaves big shoes to fill – on and off the field… “saidTampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn about Joe Maddon, who announced Saturday he’d be opting out as the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team coach for 2015.
New Balance umpire shoes
Which reminds me; I was flicking through the Zappos app the other day and saw these New Balance MU950 (made in China) “umpire” shoes. According to NewBalance.com the 950 series is the official on-field footwear of Major League Baseball umpires. I like the look of that sole; I’d call it ‘cleat lite’. They even have other styles with big pads over the lace deck. Surely a hit for your umpire Halloween costume.
New Balance screenshot from Eastbay.com
Random
Rapper Shoes: A still of some Birdmans from the Rich Gang video for “Lifestyle”
There was something else I was going to write about but I have to hop off now. I’ll leave you with this authentic robo-crafted piece of spam-poetry. Think of it as an online fortune of sorts: Click to enlarge.
You heard about the Killer Heels exhibit taking place at the Brooklyn museum- “The Art of The High-Heeled Shoe”. Along with shoes like these…
Eamz by Rem D. Koolhaas
Bamboo Heel w/plastic zip ties by Winde Rienstra
Old Italian Chopine from Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
there are some original short films running alongside the exhibit that use the heel as a conceptual starting point. Check out this teaser of SMASH by Marilyn Minter:
What about guys who want to wear something killer? We need to look in the direction of boots…
like these Salomon S-Lab X Alp Carbon GTX waterproof mountaineering boots- shown here with optional crampons.
For more formal situations, Allen Edmonds just released some new boot models. This leather mid caught my eye.
AE Odenwald Boot
The Allen Edmonds website is using this “see with pants” feature, which allows you to visuallyaudition the look of their shoe with different pairs of pants.
Nice. While the online revolution continues to make it easier for us to avoid brick and mortar shops, a company in New York City happily invites you to their place in the East Village to try on some select handmade footwear called Sabahs.
sabah.am
Sabahs are a new school take on traditional footwear worn 1000 years ago in southeastern Turkey/Syria (think: mellowed-out genie slippers). An American exposed to the style in Istanbul sought out old school cobblers in Gaziantep Turkey to recreate modern versions of this ancient loafer in which high quality leather uppers are handstitched to rubber soles.
sabah.am
The makers of Sabahs encourage the wearing of their footwear sockless, with no fear of swampfoot. The leather bootie shapes around the foot after a few wears as they become more ‘you’. If you can’t pop-up at their base in NYC, Keep an eye on their IG to catch where they might be travelling next. For more check Sabah.com
The company is Rollasole. Their line of ballet flats, also available at select brick & mortar spots, now come rolled up plastic cans along with cloth a protective bag ($20- $40) out of a pink swirly machine. They’re perfectly aimed at the “My feet are killing in these heels” demos that roam areas like Vegas, SoCal, and beyond.
Over at 8473 Melrose Avenue in L.A., a man is standing on a circular surface wearing socks that look like something Spiderman would sport to an Oakland A’s game. A state-of-the-art 3D scanner orbits around his feet and takes over 150 detailed pictures from the ankles down.
Said man is taking the first step in getting a pair of custom dress shoes made in Portugal by an American-based company called the Left Shoe . A 3D image of his foot is processed through proprietary software and becomes the foundation (the last) on which the pair will be built.
Guys can pick the color combinations, and even get a custom message laser-etched into the insole of the right shoe.Check out their website(where I got these images)to view all of the styles available.
Did you know that the Oakland A’s are the only major league baseball team that wears white shoes all of the time?
Did you know the Red Wing shoe company launched its own print paper- the Red Wing Post– in Europe last month?
instagram.com/redwingheritage
Ducere Technologies’ Lechal brand “smart” shoes were all in the news cycle this week, but did you know you can get some Lechal Bluetooth-enabled insoles that can make almost any pair smarter?
www.lechal.com
Do you know why someone would want Bluetooth-enabled footwear? Haptic technology can create a vibrating effect on the left or right sole to guide you on walks and rides, eliminating the need to glance at anything (Hells Angels hate looking at smartphones). This makes the Lechals a potential breakthrough for the blind community. Along with counting steps and calories, you can also share fitness goals with other Lehcal users using the connected app (Android, iOS, and Windows Mobile). Check out Lecahl.com .
Hey Ladies! Would you try on this platform heel that was created using a 3D printer?
www.continuumfashion.com
Part art sculpture, part shoe- this kick is generated by a company called Continuum– ran by Mary Huang from Brooklyn, New York.
The above Continuum “Daphne” shoe being printed
Huang’s Continuum was an early adopter of software-based fashion items. Her pieces have been shown in museums, and this footwear- inspired by trees, the Apollo statue, and Tron*- are sure to show up in upcoming fashion photoshoots. They also print dresses and bikinis. Check out ContinuumFashion.com .
* Yori was Tron’s female sidekick in the first movie.
Have you heard about Paul Evans shoes? A couple fellas from NYC are sorta doing for shoe-shopping what Harry’s razors are doing for shaving. They believe they’ve created an affordable product for guys that can match the quality of popular brands we’d normally buy. Think hundreds, not thousands.
Paul Evans Cognac Chukkas
They scouted a factory in Italy to create their designs, and launched a website to sell them direct to consumer. The shoes are very conservative business-guy style, but it might be time you got your suit together and entered the business world proper, bro. With belts and bags to match, you might attain that extra edge to close that deal, increase your EBITDA, or at least get her number. Check PaulEvansNY.com .
Speaking of the Oakland A’s… I mean… the Boston Red Sox- it’s Baseball time- C-ya
POPDIATRY TALKS SHOES WITH COMEDIAN HAYWOOD TURNIPSEED JR.
P. Adidas is supposed to be coming out with an app/service where users can put a custom photo on a pair of sneakers. Can you think of anything that could go wrong with that?
Haywood: Boobs. You’re going to see people putting boobs on their sneakers. If you can upload any picture you want, unless they have some type of guidelines… but I didn’t see that when I was looking at it.
P. That has to be a tough call for Adidas- choosing whether to say yea or nay- like what if you did that but had pasties on them?
Haywood: Remember when Nike started doing the customized sneakers? It was okay for a minute. You could make it your own color, you could put your birthyear on there- but nobody really took advantage of it. My brother made a pair, I know another kid that made a pair, but nobody really took advantage of it until the last few years when people started getting custom Air Force 1s and what not.
P. Sneaker Con was just in New York City last week. What’s your take on sneakerhead culture in general?
Haywood: I’m torn- I shouldn’t say torn- that comes from the hip-hop generation- it really does. Hip-hop heads- sneakers are part of the culture, part of the gear, part of the outfit that we wear. It’s taken on a life of its own. My cousin has a booth- he sells sneakers- the kiosk at the mall with custom sneakers. He went to Sneaker Con and he was just telling me how ridiculously good it was. There were people from all over- Japan, Europe, and they had limited editions. They’re talking about thousand dollar- ten thousand dollar sneakers. I was like “Are you serious?”, and he’s like “Yes”.
P. They’re investments to some people..
Haywood: Yeah, exactly. Cats like Fat Joe will put them in glass boxes to keep them. They had a pair of Jordans that had 24 karat gold eyelets, and all I could think of was cars- like when people used to get cars customized- when they first started putting on gold hood ornaments. They don’t have those anymore, so sneakers have become the new ornaments for this entire culture. On one level I dig it- it’s great- but please save some money (laughter). It’s like comic book culture, it will ebb and flow. Right now it’s really good, but in four, five years what are you going to do with those gold-plated Jordans?
P. Yeah, it’s like- do you like to read comics, or with sneakers- wear them? A lot of materials in sneakers aren’t meant to last a long time. I’ve heard stories about people unboxing unworn Jordans from the 90s and the glue has come unattached, and they just fell apart. The pressure of your foot actually serves to mush the entire product and keep everything in place.
Haywood: Jordans, that’s kind of what changed the culture- Jordan getting his own sneaker deal. When they started having automotive guys engineer the sneaker based on the foot- it’s like- Jordan used to wear a different sneaker every game because they would break down and wear down. If you’re wearing it on a regular basis it’s gonna break down, but if you don’t, it’s still going to do the same thing. Like you said, it’s not designed to be put up, they’re designed to be worn. That Foamposite thing- that stuff cracks in dry heat. Now we’re talking about it like a cigar. You gotta keep ‘em in a humidifier.
P. I’m sure there’s someone out there with a special climate controlled chamber just for their sneakers
Haywood: I know- an oxygen chamber for their sneaks…
P. A giant freezer or something…
Haywood: I would like to know cuz I have a couple pairs I would like to put in there.
#ShellToes “…a pair of (Star Wars) Stormtroopers that I’m rocking the wheels off of… “ -HTJP. Do you have any observations on kid’s shoes today? When I was a kid, the concept of big brands was more low-key. Now kids have on Adidas and Nikes before they can even walk.
Haywood: When I was growing up the brands were Stride Rite, or Kangaroos- with the pouch on the side so you could put your money in there, and you had the Hush Puppies if you wanted to get dressed up…
P. Or Buster Browns.
Haywood:Exactly, and now it’s like- part of the sneaker culture bleeding over. One of my neighbors- she bought her kid some Jordans. I’m like “You know he’s going to grow out of those in two to three months.”. You want something that they can grow into, not something to shape their foot, but to just house their foot. Personally I still go to Stride Rite for my kids. They’ve got on a pair of Stride Rites right now!
P. Out and about in DC, have you noticed any blatant footwear fashion violations lately where you’re like “What the hell…”
Haywood: We were talking Adidas and sneaker culture- I see a lot of kids these days- they’ll rock an Adidas track suit- not just the jacket, but the full track suit and then a pair of Jordans just because they match with the color scheme…. No! That’s a hip-hop faux pas. You don’t do that. You don’t just throw stuff together. Skateboard culture can get away with that. Hip-hop culture can’t get away with that.
P. Where I went to high school in Brockton Massachusetts, you could get bullied for wearing mismatched brands- like Reebok shoes with Puma socks. It was known as perpetration..
Haywood: Exactly- you’re perpetrating. Now cats just do it like it’s okay. A couple of my buddies who rap- they’re actually hip-hop heads- call people out on twitter for that, and Instagram. The old hip-hop guard is paying attention (laughter). They gotta rep the culture right.
A couple of imaginative designers have come up with a system that’ll create a pair of kicks faster than an orthodontist can mold a dental retainer.
The system is called Don’t Run, and is the beta design project of Eugenia Morpurgo and Juan Montero from Europe. A laser cutting machine and some 3D printing guided by computer numerical control lets a creative person participate in making their own shoes like never before.
A single cut piece of leather is folded over over a sandwich of custom cut sole materials connected by small pegs that resemble board game pieces.
The whole enchilada is then secured by a shoelace, which also serves as stitching for key points on the upper. No glueing or machine sewing is involved.
Example of some finished Don’t Runs
The mobile “factory” resembles more of a print shop, with leather instead of paper, ethylene vinyl acetate instead of cardboard, and spools of lace instead of staples.
http://www.dontrun-beta.com/
The system has been travelling around in the mode of an art exhibit, with accomplished designers taking a swing with their own blueprints. It’s certainly the beginning of an interesting experiment. I can’t picture your jogging sneakers of hiking boots being replaced by what is more of a beefed up slipper, but the Don’t Run model shows what is possible using fresh technology. Along with showcasing a streamlined model of production (therefore consumption), it may make going to brick and mortar shoe shops exciting to a new-school consumer who would just assume click “buy” on a Zappos app.
I saw their bootwith a protrusionthat kept your pant legs fromfraying, then I saw some of their prototypes that were made in Brooklyn, NY:
I was therefore stoked to have a chance to talk with Mr. J Artola himself, creator and designer of the brand. I learned a lot, not only about his vision for Artola, but about shoemaking itself- manufacturing, and factory knowledge he gained while personally visiting manufacturing plants in China, India, and Mexico while working for Frye, Guess and other biggies.
A Shoe Artola had custom made for rapper Flo Rida
He was of course wearing a one-of-a-kind pair of Artola casual boots, carrying a sturdy new leather Artola bag filled with exclusive and prototypical Artola shoes- a pair manufactured in Arkansas and a couple made right here in Brooklyn, New York. While the multinational brands we know and love rain a seemingly infinite amount of styles and colors on us, Artola takes more of an indie route, creating smaller batches of thoughtfully designed shoes with unique features that pick up where the pant-leg protectors left off: Inside-out blossomy lace eyelets, reinforced heel-sole corners. flavorful buckles and such…
I snapped a few pics of these unreleased made in Brooklyn Artolas. With respect to the Italian shoemaking tradition, Artola believes a product of equal quality can one day be manufactured in New York City in substantive quantities. Reshoring, and the rise of maker-culture are turning up the heat on this concept, along with a more discerning consumer, who may look at shoes as an investment more than a disposable commodity.
A shoe company grows in Brooklyn
It took a couple old-world artisans two months to craft just twelve pairs of the Brooklyns. You’re not going to see ’em on the clearance rack at Marshalls any time soon. Artola’s current retail line is manufactured in León Mexico- a post NAFTA shoemaking capital of sorts, where the company can deal with packages on trucks rather than containers on boats. Artola can keep a ma and pa type operation going while achieving their designs in a high quality fashion without having to fly across the globe every month.
Artola DREXEL
Nordstrom has Artolas in stock and you can check out this roster of where else to find them. Special thanks to Jury and Olga!
Check out Artola in real time (booth 5019) at Project Sole this July 20th – 22nd at the Javits Convention Center in NYC
Along with multiple widths, Asacks also has a fine selection of sizes over 13.
Dear Bigfoot, they have your size.
The shop itself is industrially decorated with mostly handwritten, and hand-cut signage.
Sock and lace displays offer a unique selection unmatched by your average mall-style footwear shop.
You’ve got to love a place that uses a last as a paperweight.
