SWAAN4RLBERG shoes are not made in just one place.
Our shoes are produced at our own factory in Kojima, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture.
Planning and operations are handled in Higashiura Town, Chita Peninsula, Aichi Prefecture.
Looking at a map, these places are not close.
Nevertheless, we create each pair of shoes through repeated communication between these two locations.
In Kojima, Okayama
Our factory in Kojima, Okayama, is not located in a tourist area.
It's in a very ordinary part of town, where residences and factories are mixed.
There isn't a special landscape, but in this place, time for shoemaking quietly accumulates.
Cutting leather, sewing, shaping.
The process is simple, but depending on the tension and expression of the leather and the atmosphere of the day, the approach changes slightly.
We choose the best method for each pair, observing its condition.
The Craftsmanship Ethos in a Denim Town
Kojima is known as a denim producing region.
While we are not directly involved in denim manufacturing, we feel a connection to the mindset that has taken root in this land: creating durable items that continue to be used in daily life.
Rather than making something extraordinary,
It's about being used effortlessly in daily life.
It's about gradually becoming familiar with the user over time.
This feeling quietly breathes in this town.
What we consider in Higashiura Town, Aichi
Meanwhile, in Higashiura Town, on the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture.
Here, we handle shoe planning and operations.
What shape is comfortable? Where does it fit in an outfit?
Okayama and Aichi. While our roles differ, what we consider daily naturally overlaps.
How does it feel when worn?
Where does it fit in an outfit?
We give shape to these ideas by verifying them from the same perspective.
Communication that connects distance
Precisely because of the distance, we value verbal communication.
To ensure even the slightest discrepancy isn't overlooked.
Through numerous calls and messages, we envision the same shoe and give it form.
If we only considered efficiency, there might be simpler methods.
Nevertheless, we continue with this approach.
Okayama and Aichi,
The time and sensibilities accumulated in each region quietly overlap in a single pair of shoes.
If these shoes can seamlessly blend into someone's daily life and become a constant presence on their feet, almost unnoticed.
That is the shoemaking we aim for.