Shoemaker specializing in shoe uppers: thinning of leather (1)

About the sound

The sound of thinning leather edges, i.e. reducing its thickness. The recording was realized in Adam Cieślak’s Shoe Uppers Repair Shop at 3 Dąbrowskiego Street in Warsaw (Poland).
The shoemaker specializing in shoe uppers uses electrically driven thinning craft machine. Sharp knife cuts off a layer of leather fed on a rotating roller. The thinning of leather is performed within the process of sewing new uppers for shoes made to measure. When the shoe upper is cut out, it is necessary to thin and fold its upper edge in order to strengthen it and give the shoe a better look.
Services provided in the shoe uppers repair shop include the narrowing, widening and shortening of boots, stretching of shoes, replacement of zippers in shoes, sewing straps on too loose shoes, replacing buckles and elastic bands in shoes, sewing in shoe counters and replacing shoe padding. The shoemaker specializing in shoe uppers prepares also the uppers for shoes made to measure but nowadays, he much more frequently performs shoe repair works.

Sound recordist: Monika Widzicka
Photographer: Iwo Wachowicz
Video recordist: Iwo Wachowicz