Where I get custom shoes in Toronto

Peter Feeney‘s story sounds like it comes out of a cordwainer fairy tale. Disenchanted with his career choice in film and television in his late 20s, he quit, packed up his life and moved to Florence, Italy to learn how to make shoes. He spent most of the next three and a half years being yelled at in Italian (which at first he didn’t speak) by an old master shoe-maker. When he returned to his native Toronto, he set up shop in a tiny, windowless room under a tailoring shop to quietly toil away making one pair of custom shoes a week. That’s when I met Peter.

Toronto bespoke shoemaker Peter Feeney.

A year later, he’s still in that tiny workshop, under Trend Tailors at Sherbourne and Dundas, but some things have changed. He’s now barely able to keep up with demand. He’s making two pairs a week instead of one. And he’s not alone; Peter now has two part-time cordwainers working with him.

Yusuke preparing to hand stitch a sole.

Peter met Yusuke in Florence. They both apprenticed at the same shoe maker and became fast friends. When Yusuke had the opportunity to come to Canada, Peter gladly brought him on board. This has allowed Peter to up production while not having to compromise on quality. This is because they speak the same language, both metaphorically and literally. They both learned how to make shoes from the same teacher, so their approach to shoe making is the same. But it’s more than that: Yusuke doesn’t speak much English and Peter doesn’t speak any Japanese. They communicate in Italian. It’s better this way, says Peter, since it’s the language they both learned specifically for shoe making. When they speak Italian, instructions or details are not lost in translation.

Pattern cutter Marina.

Marina is a new arrival at Peter’s. She simply showed up one day and asked for a job. Having trained in pattern cutting at a top school in Milan, Peter was very happy to have her on the team. She is also learning the rest of the shoe making craft from Peter and Yusuke.

Bespoke shoe in process.

Peter’s approach to shoe making goes something like this. The first consultation is all about measuring your foot, from which the last (a plastic form of your foot) will be made, offsite to a pre-existing size. While that is happening, the next consultation is all about style, as Peter tries to get you to think about what type and colour of shoe would work best in your wardrobe and your life. Then, when the last arrives, Peter starts a process of building on to it with cork to best replicate the exact shape of your foot. If it is the first pair of shoes Peter is making you, he will prepare a rough shoe out of cheap leather for a try on, to insure the last is correct. Once the last is right and the style and colours are chosen, the leather is cut and stitched – the stitching is also done off site. Finally the shoe is built by hand in-house by Peter’s team, stretching the leather upper over the last and attaching the sole. A special hand patina requires one more visit to make sure the look and colour is just right. The whole process currently takes about six months and the price starts at $1500.