Manufacturing

Supply chain

by LAURA SHUMAKER January 20, 2016

Woven labels for every new pair of shoes!

Ever since the first SFT beta shoes were shipped, we’ve been branding the logo into the leather and then hand-inking it for contrast. These branded logos look lovely right out of the box, but the ink doesn’t last past the first resole. Maybe fine for the first prototypes, but clearly, it was time to reconsider the logo process.

Thinking about the logo as a subassembly (what kind of components generate the logo) rather than as a process to be improved (how do we make our ink more durable – that we already experimented with) opened up the possibilities. After considering design options, we decided on woven fabric labels. Unlike most of our other manufacturing steps, woven labels are a component best sourced from one of the many companies that already specialize in this. Last step: find a supplier to partner with – the first component-level link in our supply chain.

We found that the Dutch Label Shop offered the space for creativity and the commitment to durability that SFT wanted for our new woven labels. The first order turned out great, and we’re proud to incorporate them into our shoes.