Shoe craftsmanship

Think! shoes are crafted by highly trained and experienced staff with passion, heart and soul. They tinker away until they are satisfied with the result. They craft each shoe by hand in up to 200 individual steps – with care, enthusiasm and a personal touch.

Here at Think!, we also uphold the tradition of shoemaking. We therefore train at least one apprentice as a shoemaker every year at our site in Kopfing. This is all the more important given that there are only a maximum of 10 graduates per year across the whole of Austria.

“We dedicate our shoes to all those who let joy into their lives and have the courage to be themselves.“

Martin Koller, Think! founder

Shoe making - step by step

How are shoes made? A look behind the scenes in our workshops in Kopfing, Upper Austria: let's follow the manufacturing process of a shoe – from its design to the point when it is packaged and ready for dispatch to a shop.

Design

Everything starts with an initial sketch, not only of the basic shape but also including any special details. With the aid of a last model, we check whether the proportions are right and whether the design can be realised. The individual components needed are drawn onto a basic model, recorded digitally and calculated for each required size. This data is then used to make the cutting dies for the next production step.

Cutting

The individual parts of the shoe are die cut from large leather hides, and readied for being stitched together with the aid of paper templates. All future seams are marked with a silver pen.

Sharpening

Some of the outer edges of the leather have to be "sharpened" (shaved) off with a machine, i.e. flattened. This is important to ensure that nothing overlaps when they are sewn together – which might cause the shoe to pinch. Some of the outer edges are reinforced ("backed") with thin fabric ribbons to equip the shoe for all adventures it might experience. Now a layer of fabric made from 100% cotton is ironed onto the reinforced and sharpened leather parts. This ensures that they remain flexible and supple for a long time to come, but retain their original shape.

Closing

Closing means that the individual leather parts are now stitched, or sewn, together; any decorative stitching is also applied at this point.

Lining insertion

The prepared inner lining, which also consists of several individual pieces, is glued onto the leather upper. They are held together in this way only temporarily, and will be stitched together later on to create the finished upper of the shoe from these two separate parts.

Edge trimming

The edge trimming machine takes care of two steps at the same time: the inner lining is stitched onto the outer lining and attached permanently. The edges of the inner lining therefore have to be trimmed, i.e. a vibrating cutter removes any surplus lining leather.

Laminatiing & heels

To quote Aristotle, it's all about a good balance between flexibility and stability. A fabric-covered plastic part is inserted into the shoe's toe cap. It adapts to the strain when the shoe is worn and at the same time always returns to its original shape. The inner lining is glued to the leather toe cap with latex milk. At the heel, a counter is inserted between the upper leather and the inner lining. This ensures that the shoe firmly adheres to the foot.

Lasting

Now it's time for the lasting. The midsole, which sits between the outer and the inner sole, is attached to the respective last. The upper and the sole are pulled over the last, which gives the shoe its individual shape. The clamping machine stretches the upper leather tightly across the last and automatically glues the midsole to the upper's protruding leather. When the heel is clamped, the heel end is also stretched over the last, glued and attached to the midsole with nails.

Sanding & scouring

Before attaching the rubber sole, any excess leather resulting from the tightening process is removed from the insole. To do this, the protruding upper leather is pre-sanded and the leather is roughened so that the adhesive can penetrate as deeply as possible into the fibres later on.

Soling

At last, everything is put together. A suitable adhesive is brushed onto the last and the sole and briefly left to dry before both is heated and pressed together firmly. In the sole press, the sole is permanently attached to the last with the aid of negative pressure. Rien ne va plus! A shoe that will be enjoyed for a long time to come.

Removing of the last

Before the last can be taken off, any potential adhesive residues must be removed from the shoe. This is done with a rotating horsehair brush.

Finishing

For the perfect finish, the shoe is heated in the "shoe room" by means of hot air to burn away even the smallest leather or adhesive residues. Any edges that might cause the shoe to pinch later on are simply flattened with a hammer. Finally, the shoe is polished with shoe cream and equipped with an insole. That's it: the shoe is wrapped in tissue paper and packaged – and ready to go on its first long journey.