1. Founded in 1865, Grenson has a long history of shoe making. Unfortunately, like so many contemporaries in the 1960s, Grenson had little regard for its archive and buried it under old factory rubble. But, since you joined in 2005 you have been carefully collating Grenson artefacts to put the pieces of the Grenson history jigsaw back together. What have been your best finds so far?  

I have been mostly looking for vintage from ebay or from customers who find old shoes, and send them in. Most of the shoes I find are from the 1980s and 90s with a few from the 60s and 70s. However I did manage to find an old pair of boots from the early part of the 20th century and a pair of very rugged work boots from the 1930s. My other best find was two pairs of Army boots dated 1944 which would have been made and worn in WWII. 

2. As the owner and creative director what is the value of an archive? Would you say it has a two- fold importance, perhaps creatively and commercially?  

Mainly the archive is of huge value as a rubber stamp to the authenticity of the brand. People trust heritage brands because they have been making the product for a long time and the archive is the physical proof of that. 

Creatively, the archive is valuable not just to use for inspiration, but mostly as an anchor for the brand. Something to reference, to make sure we are staying true to our roots. We don’t want to be a museum brand, we want to be contemporary, but the archive allows us to do that whilst staying true to our roots. It also proves to us that Grenson was a creative and innovative brand and moved around a lot in terms of design and trends, so it gives us vital clues as to what the brand stood for many years ago. 

3. Which contemporary Grenson shoe is your favourite interpretation of an archival piece?  

It has to be Stanley because it was the first shoe I did with Grenson.  

I asked what the best selling shoe was and then I traced it back to the 1940s where it had been tweaked every year or two since then. I updated the last and made minor changes to the pattern and this became our shoe to relaunch the brand. 

4) Your strapline is The Good Shoe. References appear in Grenson’s post- World War II publicity. What do you think it implied then, what did it mean to you when you resurrected it. And, what can it mean post- Covid 19?  

I love it because it is modest. Its very English. Their ambition was to make a “good shoe”, not the greatest shoe or the coolest shoe, just a “good shoe”. It implies that the company is down to earth and intent on making a good product rather than shouting about it. Its understatement, the opposite of smoke and mirrors. They were a religious family and wouldn’t have believed in boasting or crass over-claiming. Today that one phrase guides our overall tone of voice: down to earth, unpretentious. 

5. One of your first publicity campaigns was Heritage is Back. This happened in 2008 before luxury brands hijacked heritage. How does a brand like Grenson remain loyal to the principles it has inherited in a price competitive market?  

Heritage for us is about using the principles that have built the company over the last 150 plus years, not “heritage” as a fashion movement. The power of our brand is only utilised when people can see the DNA coming through in a modern way. For us, part of that DNA is quality and quality isn’t cheap, but if it’s relevant and provides value then it works. The key isn’t price it is value. A Rolls Royce is good value to its owner because it’s the finest quality money can buy. 

6. Reflecting on your long history, which crises were pivoting points for the company? How did the company turn or fail to turn around its fortunes? 

It’s interesting because the two world wars that were the major crises for most companies were very beneficial to companies like Grenson, who made shoes for the allied Forces. They were pivotal not because they were damaging but because they saved the company.  

The crisis that really damaged the company to the point where it almost closed was the movement of manufacturing overseas, first to Italy, Spain and Portugal and then ultimately to the Far East. Cheaper prices and cheaper construction methods meant that the Grenson product went from good value to luxury in the space of about 20 years.  

At the same time, men became more interested in fashion and styling changed to trend based rather than tradition based. Factories like Grenson didn’t have designers, they had technicians and didn’t have the ability to create unique and relevant designs. 

7. And what can we learn from those moments today?  

Companies like Grenson have to embrace change. You can’t stop the tide. We have to spot when a change is happening in the marketplace and work out how that fits with our principals and aesthetic. In 2016 there was a huge movement towards luxury sneakers worn as dress shoes. We launched our own sneakers in 2017 and if we had left it any longer we may not have been here today. We literally learnt from our history. 

8. The population census of the 1850s listed Grenson’s founder William Green, as a pauper shoemaker. Twenty years later the census referred to him as a shoe factor. What does this tell us about the changes the shoe industry incurred at the time?  

When he started most shoes were made in peoples houses and the factor would go to London to get orders, bring them back and visit the houses to brief in the various parts of the shoe to different people and then pick them up when completed.  Then industrialisation happened. Machinery developed to help many of the processes, and they also realised that if they brought everyone together in a “factory” they could be more efficient. William was at the forefront of the industrialisation in Britain and built a cutting edge factory. 

9. Under the lockdown Grenson has been forced to close its factory. And even when this lockdown is lifted social distancing is likely to stay until 2021. How does this affect the functionality of the factory floor?  

For a big factory, there might be 6 people doing each job, so you can ask 3 of them to work one day and the other 3 the next, thereby maintaining social distancing. With us some of the jobs are done by a single person so it is impossible to cut down the amount of people working. Having said that we have a nice spacious factory and we can create zones within it so I think it will be possible. 

10. Could looking into the pre-factory stages of shoemaking i.e.: when some processes took place at craftsmen’s homes and others under one organised roof, offer some creative solutions to the challenges posed by Covid-19’s spatial restrictions?  

 I don’t think so, not on the manufacturing side. Efficiency is crucial to making products commercial. We still make bespoke shoes in a craftsman’s house but they are very expensive and the market is tiny. Unfortunately demand on the high street is always hugely price-elastic and always will be. 

11. The factory floor is a major part of the training for shoemaking.  Would you say this applies to Grenson too? And, what words of encouragement would you share with apprentices whose education has also been halted?  

Most people learn shoemaking on the factory floor, not in a school or college. It’s the best way and it ensures that the apprentice learns the “Grenson” way of making a shoe. I would say to apprentices that whilst we still wear shoes, we still need shoemakers, so hang on, we will back making shoes again soon, I don’t think people yearn to go barefoot yet. 

12. In the past year there has been a lot of noise against the glut for stuff . Inspired by an ad I found while researching your archive, I’d like to ask you how do you envision that we, the consumer and the manufacturer, work together to change this behavioural pattern?  

It’s been in our DNA from day one. Where you make well made products that last, you cut down the need for replacements. Grenson has always had a sustainable model, we have always promoted buying quality because it lasts, and on top of that we have always offered to repair your shoes. Buy less but buy quality. 

 13. I found this watercolour in your archive. It dates back to 1985, when a visionary Grenson employee sketched up an ideal retail set up for Grenson. It appears to emphasise the repair and craftsmanship elements of the shoes. What do you think the future of retail holds? Mary Portas in her FT article here concludes that ‘it has very little to do with more, more, more. It will resolve around better.’ Do you agree?  

Yes of course. The market may move towards higher quality, but people have to be educated to buy products for the long term. At the moment fashion dictates that you don’t want to pay more for quality because they will be obsolete in 6 months. So not only do people need to see the value in quality, they also need to see the value in timeless design as opposed to this seasons “must have item”. 

 14. And, finally, what message would you like to share with Grenson loyals ?   

Hang in there, we are here for another 150 years.