January 11, 2021
Norman Vilalta has been working hard on creating one of the most beautiful and unique collections around. His styles always have small ‘twists by Norman’, his coloring is always with a touch of patina but not ostentatious, and his combinations of soles to certain models are always intriguing. Norman’s shoes and style are most certainly uniquely his. I always enjoy seeing what he comes up with and Facebook is not shy of showing me that […]
January 8, 2021
I will keep it short and sweet. Carmina Shoemaker just started their Winter Sale and have a ton of very cool models at 25% off. Discounts take place at checkout. The issue is that the shoes go quickly so make sure to hurry up and check to see if your size is available in the pair(s) you like! See a fraction here of what they are selling. There are so many more on offer. Happy […]
January 7, 2021
With great cobblers and amazing patina artists, no shoes are lost. These pictures are proof of that. With an error created on a pair of Meermin wholecuts, which resulted in a hole in the leather and stripping of the museum calf, most people might have had their heart sink to their stomach. But with the help of Greg Park, aka Hancore, who resides in NYC sharing a shop with my brand, the shoes were just […]
December 4, 2020
A few months back, I did a review of the very popular Artista Line by TLB Mallorca and promised a follow-up on their mainline and here it is! As I had also mentioned, TLB Mallorca has come out gun’s blazin’ in the last few years and built quite a name for themselves as one of the best Spanish shoemakers of modern-day times. And when you see and feel their shoes, you realize that this reputation […]
October 16, 2020
For those that do not know, TLB Mallorca is one of the newer brands hailing from Spain but unlike the countless ones made by other factories, TLB is actually its own brand and factory. Started by Antonio Barceló, whose upbringing in the shoe industry started at a young age but blossomed as one of the owners of Yanko (another one of the great brands of Mallorca), before deciding to have a run at his very […]
August 26, 2020
Norman has a great series of imagery for his latest collections of shoes. And these shots and shoes, more importantly, are mind-blowing. I particularly like the featured balmoral which at first glance looks like a common oxford but then when looking more deeply at it, shows Norman’s great attention to detail in the small, subtle design changes that he makes to really separate his brand. This is just what I like though but not really […]
June 23, 2020
I keep seeing these Carmina monk straps on my social media feed and the more that I see them, the more I get jealous that I do not own a pair! For those that know me, you know that my favorite color is blue. Always has been. Always will be. And the blue on this Cordovan leather is simply sublime. It is so rich, yet so subtle at the same time. It is distinctly blue […]
April 24, 2020
Spanish shoemaker, TLB Mallorca, has gained a lot of traction in the Marketplace in 2019 and continuing to do so in 2020, especially with the popularity of their Artista collection. Their signature adelaide has blown away much of the industry and is a very very attractive version that has been one of my favorites of recent times. You can see that below (on the feet). So TLB Mallorca came out with some solid foundation for […]
April 16, 2020
Carmina has just launched their ‘Custom Weekend’ for Summer 2020, as of yesterday. What this means, is that not only are they waiving all MTO fees, but also giving away free shoe trees with each order. An incredible offer to say the very least. But this offer is only good until April 19th so you have 4 days to get your orders in before the deal of a lifetime goes away. Wishing everyone health and […]
February 28, 2020
Our 2nd showcase is none other than my good friend, Norman Vilalta, one of the shoemakers I most respect in this industry. Norman is one of the only brands that has been with us for each year of the event and is always a favorite at the show, which comes as no surprise being that Norman always has new things on offer, great ideas and shoes that no one else does! Norman will surely have […]
