Engineers in London Study Abroad Program: Freed of London Site Visit Reflections

Leah's comments about FREED OF LONDON

Walking up to the factory, it seemed more like a good-sized house than a factory that produced shoes for all over the world. We met Daniel first who told us how their company works and introduced us to Jerry and Gary who were managers of the two different sections of shoemaking they had at that factory, social dancing and pointe shoes. Daniel told us that Freed’s had a very old fashioned way of doing things. This was hard for me to believe knowing what I do about their popularity. Next we split in two groups to tour the two different sections of the factory.

My group went to the social dancing shoe side to begin with. I was in awe as Jerry took us through the process of shoe making. We met one of their designers and he explained to us the different types of the leather and what they are used for. We saw where they cut the leather and fabrics. Then we saw where all the different parts of the shoe were sewed. The shoe is then put together and the sole and heel are put on last. I really enjoyed this part of the tour more than I thought I would. It was cool learning about the materials and how they worked together.

Next we went to the pointe shoe section. Since I danced en pointe when I was younger I was extremely excited about seeing where such famous shoes are made. I knew one of their claims to fame was personalizing shoes to dancers feet and Gary explained this process to us. He explained how it takes a pointe shoemaker three years to be trained and how each one has his or her own touch. We went through the whole process. We saw how they make the block in the shoe all the way to the shank in the sole. It was very, very cool.

This tour quickly moved to my favorite event so far. It was interesting seeing how the major factor in a sport I was so involved in growing up is made.

Brittany's Comments about FREED OF LONDON

I was very interested in the tour because of my 16 year dancing background. I was very big into pointe and had focused my dancing on just pointe ballet from 8 years old on. It was fascinating to see how they are made.

We went to the small factory and the manager explained that all the machines and settings were from the original factory. With the progress of technology and how popular the company has become, I was surprised to see they had not upgraded.

The factory was divided up into two sub factories: theatrical and ballet. My initial perception was just to be interested by the ballet shoes only, but I was quickly proven wrong. Just seeing how regular everyday people design these beautiful shoes was amazing. Each person had a tiny role to play and just the slightest slip up could cause a malfunction. I also was thinking how great it would feel just to watch a spectacular show and think to myself, "I made those shoes."

Going to the factory was probably one of the highlights of this trip. I started thinking more about my future regarding materials engineering and I could see how even materials play a large part in that! It was awesome to see how they constructed the very shoes I danced so many years in and made so many memories in. It is not every day do you get to see a shoe factory as old, traditional, and great as Freed of London. This is something I will definitely never forget.