Maison Patina’s new Saddle Service

saddle2

Peter Feeney’s custom shoe-making meets Emmanuel Farre’s art of patina.

I have written before about Peter Feeney and Emmanuel Farre; the former is a shoe maker, the latter a patina artist. Both reside and work, separately, in Toronto. But a few weeks ago I brought their craftsmanship together, as it were, for a special project. Peter made me these custom Adelaide oxfords last summer but I must admit their light, yellowish colour meant I wore them rarely and only with tan or light coloured trousers. A mid to darker brown is more versatile and while talking it over with Emmanuel, he suggested I try his new Saddle Service.

saddle-process1

The original patina on my Peter Feeney shoes.

Less expensive and involved than Emmanuel’s full patina, his new Saddle Service follows a similar process. But instead of a variety of colours, this new service delivers a consistent, rich brown “saddle” look. There is still plenty of craft involved – with many layers of dyes and creams – but the end effect is a brown finish with intense depth of colour and shade.

saddle-process2

Emmanuel starts by stripping as much of the original colour out of the leather as he can, so that he has a clean, light base to work with. This is the same as the start of his regular patina process.

saddle-process3

He then begins adding layer after layer of dyes and creams in varying shades of brown, to build up the colour he wants.

saddle-process4

The final step, once the right colour balance is achieved, is Emmanuel’s remarkable glaçage. This high gloss finish is unreal, giving the toe cap an appearance of polished glass. The overall effect of the Saddle patina, while still eye-catching and unique, is less flamboyant than his standard patinas and a great option for those interested in some dash without too much dandy.

saddle1

Emmanuel Farre’s company is called “Maison Patina” and he works out of the Loding shoe location at 133 Avenue Road.