The main reason we 3D print our shoe lasts for sale is because the corresponding automation yields considerable advantages. Most importantly, it means we can produce shoe lasts directly at our Canadian lab, on-demand, rather than with cheap labor in overseas mass production facilities. What this means for you is that you can get highly customized shoe lasts in quick turnaround times.
One challenge for us has been figuring out how to organize all the possible ways our shoe lasts can be customized. We’re happy to say we think we’re finally satisfied with our system. It does take a bit of explaining though, hence this page.
We’ve broken it down into three levels:
Standard Shoe Lasts
Once you have a style selected, you can choose the sizing system (US, UK, or Paris Point) and then choose a size (halve sizes available) and width (AAAA-EEEE). You can mismatch the sizes and widths for the left and right feet. You can also increase the depth of the shoe lasts to make space for various inserts (sock lining, insole, foot orthotic). For individual shoe last measurements, please see our sizing charts.
Custom Shoe Lasts
For our custom shoe lasts, we let you specify the shoe last measurements directly (not foot measurements!). Our most likely customer for this level of customization is the experienced shoe maker, someone who knows exactly what they want. I say this because it takes some previous experience to know what shoe last measurements will work for a particular foot or population. That being said, we’ve put together a more detailed explanation of our custom shoe lasts which can help you get started if this is the route you want to take.
Bespoke Shoe Lasts
For our bespoke shoe lasts, you specify foot measurements and supply foot tracings. In other words, the shoe lasts will be ‘spoken’ for. Unlike our custom shoe lasts, our bespoke shoe lasts don’t require in-depth knowledge of shoe lasts. We will provide that. We’ll take take your foot measurements, add allowances, apply them to the shoe last style you choose, and make any adjustments necessary based on your foot tracings. Whether you are a first time shoe maker or a well established shop, we’re confident this will be a very helpful service. For more details, see our bespoke shoe last guide.
Shoe Last Design
If none of these levels provide enough customization for your needs, don’t worry, we likely can still meet your needs. We also design shoe lasts from the ground up to meet very specialized needs. Visit these pages to request our design shoe last or copy shoe last services (additional grading optional). We can accept various 3D files and you can even ship us samples to work from. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Shoe Last Customization Summary
We hope our products and services provide enough options for most of you shoe makers out there. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know in the comments below, or contact us directly.
