The Shoe Artistry Story
Where Craft, Technology & Heritage Co-exist
The story is best told by our founders, Jeff & Kit, in their own words.
In 2011, rising rent threatened to shut down a 40-year-old traditional shoemaking workshop, Ming Kee Shoes, in Jordan, Hong Kong. In a heartbeat, Jeff and Kit dropped their careers, inherited all tools and shoemakers, took on the business, and committed the following decades to revive and reinvent the trade.
Jeff was a trained product designer, a highly regarded lecturer with Hong Kong’s top design institutes, and a reputable business design consultant for social enterprises. Kit was a globetrotting fashion and jewellery designer, with her development and sourcing operations taking her places. They both have a deeply-seated passion for empowering young designer entrepreneurs and in maintaining sustainability in the local production workforce that faces extinction threats in this age of industrialization.
Jeff was a trained product designer, a highly regarded lecturer with Hong Kong’s top design institutes, and a reputable business design consultant for social enterprises. Kit was a globetrotting fashion and jewellery designer, with her development and sourcing operations taking her places. They both have a deeply-seated passion for empowering young designer entrepreneurs and in maintaining sustainability in the local production workforce that faces extinction threats in this age of industrialization.
#KeepShoeMakingCraftAlive#
Shoemaking is a heritage craft. With mass production, handmade leather shoes are no longer in demand. The modern society sees the traditional craft vanishing, with shoemakers left without successors. Shoe Artistry wishes to educate consumers on the value of the shoemaking craft, and revamp its image, eliminating the perception that the trade is for lowly labourers, but a hard-earned skill that requires experience and an eye for creativity.
To preserve the shoemaking legacy, the industry needs to bring in new blood and next-generation craftsmen have to attain a certain level of artistry. Guided by this vision, Jeff and Kit implemented the following practices to the Shoe Artistry business over the years:
- Integrated 3D design technologies to the shoemaking process
- Revamped the shoemaking operations to focus on bespoke designs, quality construction, perfect fit, foot wellness, and customer service
- Introduced shoemaking workshops, apprenticeship programs, and commercial consultations
Today, Shoe Artistry has curated a proud bespoke collection of crafted footwear from the classics, contemporary to the Avant-Garde styles. We have since expanded beyond Hong Kong, penetrating China, Singapore, and Indonesia with our shoemaking service and workshop business.
Watch an exclusive interview with the founders of Shoe Artistry and find them in the press.
