The Crockett & Jones Factory Tour has been at least 10 years in the making. From 2010 until 2017, I lived in London, and during that time, while building my own business, I started working with Crockett & Jones for The Shoe Snob Blog. The head of Marketing/Online, James Fox, and I always discussed working my way up to Northampton to check out the factory. Sadly, as is too often the case, we tend to go everywhere but the places closest to us when we live somewhere. In 2017, I moved back to the US and got lost in building my business back in the US.
Eight years later, I finally had a few spare days during my yearly trip to London and decided to finally make this happen. I am glad that I did so!
Being in a factory is probably among my favorite places. That might sound crazy to some, but I love the smell, the creativity, the craft, and the continuation of the dress shoe industry. It is factories like Crockett & Jones that we need in order to make sure our industry stays afloat in this ever-changing world of fast fashion and comfort. Thankfully, Crockett & Jones is doing well and making sure to keep this industry moving forward by remaining true to ‘quality first.’ And let me tell you, that is a lot easier said than done, especially in today’s world of exorbitant costs and the scarcity of materials.
One thing that the Crockett & Jones Factory Tour proved was the whispered rumors about whether or not C&J does everything in-house or outsources upper-making to India, as is the case with many other shoe factories. Of the 200 or so employees, 100 of them work in the upper-making department, creating everything in-house and being one of the largest expenses of the company. And they do it with pride.
I had a nice talk with the owner, Jonathan Jones and his son-in-law, James Fox, about quality, the industry, shoemaking, the rising costs and the lack of ‘good’ materials and you can tell that remaining true to the core foundations of quality-made British shoes is at the top of their agenda. And they don’t break that idea or cut corners for anyone or anything, even at the detriment of potential higher profits and growth. That is admirable and why Crockett & Jones has remained one of, if not the most famous, and renowned brands in the Goodyear Welted shoe industry.
My trip to Northampton to finally make the Crockett & Jones Factory Tour was short and not as long as I had hoped for. I hope that you enjoy this short video highlighting the factory and all of its glory. I am sure I will go back again and hopefully with a videographer in tow!
Learn more here: https://us.crockettandjones.com/
—Justin FitzPatrick, The Shoe Snob
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