The Arditti Way
Truly Handmade
Mass production. It hides everywhere in the boot industry. Not at Tomasso Arditti.
Rather than expand our production exponentially with machinery, Tomasso Arditti limits it. It’s the only way to give our customers the quality they expect.
An almost-alarming number of customers have expressed disappointment in “handmade” boots they’ve bought from other makers. Some have asked us to tear them down and remake them, and we’ve done it. We’ve also shown them where the cardboard, plastic and machine work are hiding. Even today’s luxury bootmakers use computers to design and computerized machines to topstitch. Computers have taken over cutting skins, lasting and welt stitching. When you make 900 pairs of boots a day, you need a robotic approach.
The trouble with machine work is that it simply doesn’t have the capacity to adjust intuitively the way the human hand can.
In terms of boots, our handwork is unrivaled. Most boot manufacturers use plastic or celastic (a material that hardens) toeboxes, cardboard insoles and cardboard composite heels, disguising them with inexpensive leather linings. Our standards are far superior.
- We use only prime leather for our uppers, linings, insoles, outsoles, toeboxes and heels
- We last every boot entirely by hand
- Every welt is hand sewn
- Arditti craftsmen hand carve each toebox and heel
- We use four rows of lemonwood pegs in our soles
- We only topstitch by hand
Why Buy Handmade?
Handmade is worth more.
Lamborghini is obsessive. Their process is slower and more customized, and human hands play an enormous role in every stage of putting an automobile together.
On the Corvette production line? Robots.
Chevrolet Corvette Coveted and beautiful Speed: 200 miles per hour Production per Year: About 50,000 2015 Price: from $55,000 |
Lamborghini Coveted and beautiful Speed: 217 miles per hour Production per Year: About 500 2015 Price: from $237,250 |