What's so special about handmade shoes?

Everything that is handmade is unique. From experience in designing and supervising production, we know that it is impossible to create two identical products by hand. Each piece of natural, unprocessed leather is different, it is impossible to make two of the same holes in a shoe, it is impossible to make two perfect embossing. And this is just one of the advantages of buying handmade products. We are sure that we are the owners of something unique and we will not find another handbag or the same shoes.

Handmade shoes are also a guarantee of quality. In the case of shoes for SempreArte, they are made by people who were born and live in a village that only makes shoes. In Guatemala it is like it used to be in Poland, every village is famous for something. There is a place famous for furniture production, coffee and cocoa cultivation, as well as a city where most of the inhabitants are waiters. Imagine a village where there is a shoemaker's shop on every corner, shoes are the main topic of conversation, and every Guatemalan goes there several times in his life to buy shoes that will serve him for many years. There is no place for receipts, returns or complaints here. The shoes must be solid. The reputation of the family and the popularity of the store, where three generations often work at the same time, depend on it. These two factors mean you don't need a multi-million-dollar quality control system. The quality and comfort of the shoe are always in the first place.

When the spirit of the artist awakens in the craftsman, he begins to experiment with materials and patterns. It follows trends and combines them with timeless design. A few rebellious souls from the city of shoes went this way. One of them is our friend Jose, whose shoes you can find in our offer. His shop won the hearts of tourists from around the world, but most importantly, it made the young inhabitants of Guatemala City prefer the products of native craftsmen to the products of well-known footwear brands.

What is the difference between a pair of handmade shoes and those offered by well-known footwear brands? First of all, with the heart and work put into production.
Somewhere in distant Asia and India there are huge factories that make thousands of shoes a day and selectively check their quality. This is a contradiction of the phenomenon of "Slow Fashion", which stole our hearts after the first visit to Jose's workshop. This is a place where the whole family works on each pair, usually for 4 days. The shoe is controlled and refined at every stage to finally get to probably the most perfect quality control system - Jose's mother, who checks every detail with a stern eye.

The next time you are faced with choosing a place to buy shoes, remember that it is not worth buying shoes that you have to replace after a few months. Also think about the environment. You are not sure where your used shoe ends up. Perhaps it will be recycled, but more likely they will end up in a sea of ​​garbage. Slow fashion is our next message. We want to provide things that will serve you as long as possible and have the least impact on the environment.

And finally, the most important reason why you should invest in handmade shoes. Think about how much a factory worker in China or India earns. Few. This is often less per month than the equivalent of a shoe that will be sold on global markets. It looks completely different with manual production in Guatemala. The artist gets exactly what the shoe is worth. By buying a handmade product, you support local activities, you support people with passion, people who have been creating something out of love for years.