Freed of London Factory Tour

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we visited the Freed of London factory in Hackney. We had to split the group over two days because we are too large a group to visit all at once.

Tuesday's Group

Wednesday's Group

Dr. V-P and I met the students at Courtfield Gardens and then made our way via tube and overground to the Freed factory.

Both days James greeted us and welcomed us to Freed. He gave a brief history and then we separated into the pointe shoe side of the factory and the theatrical side of the factory. On Tuesday, James showed us the pointe shoe side and Jerry showed the theatrical side. On Wednesday, James showed us the theatrical side and Gary showed us the pointe shoe side.  We got to see the entire process for creating both kinds of shoes--from the design to the final product ready for shipping. They shared the ordering forms, daily work logs, and quality control process.

The tour was interesting, educational, and directly related to what the students are working on in class. It was exciting to see the handcrafted work. We feel so lucky to have talked to some employees and to hear how proud they are of their work. It was an honor to visit Freed and see shoes being made.