Craftsmanship Y
A stitch in time
Sailing footwear specialist Dubarry takes pride in providing a repair service for its products. By Guy Venables, photos by Dan Houston
ou would find it hard to turn up at any marina around the world and find no trace of Dubarry and their ubiquitous footwear. So prevalent is their influence that their classic sailing boot design has been copied by manufacturers the world over and has come to stand for high quality and durability. So, when we knew we were going to Ireland, a visit to their plant seemed imperative. And that is how we found ourselves one morning in a quiet, sunny village in Galway. Taking its name from Madame du Barry, a famed seamstress, courtesan and mistress of Louis XV, Dubarry was formed as a fine quality shoe manufacturer in 1937. The business was initially run as a co-operative, drawing on the nearby population of hard-working craftsmen and women. A tradition soon established itself and skills in leatherwork and stitching were passed down from generation to generation. Then, pharmaceutical companies began to use the tax breaks and labour force of Ireland. They paid better and the work was less intensive, which effectively stemmed the flow of labour to Dubarry. The shoemaker saw the average age of its
Top: John Burke’s time is divided between development work and repairs Middle row: Old lasts from the plant’s shoemaking days; restitching old seaboots Bottom row: Handmade quality is supported by some venerable machinery
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workforce climb to the mid 50s and beyond. As the only commercial shoemaker in Ireland, it became unviable to run a tannery and to buy in parts like eyelets from Italy. The company ended up paying a high price for supplies due to the small scale of production. So, in 2004, Dubarry moved manufacturing to northern Portugal, where there are around 300 shoemakers. As well as bringing costs down, the new location introduced novel techniques, shared from other manufacturers. For example, soon after the move, Dubarry abandoned sewn linings; their boots became more waterproof and the problem of loose linings and soles diminished.
Although mass production moved abroad, the jobs of design and repair stayed in Galway. That’s why, when we walked onto the factory floor, there was no constant din of conveyor belts and hydraulics, but rather the occasional purr of a heavy-duty sewing machine, and the sound of contentedly whistling. The whistler, it turned out, was
CLASSIC BOAT MAY 2012
“Dubarry has a strong ethos of recycling and repair”
John Burke, a craftsman who had been working there since 1969 and, our guide confided in us, a man vitally embedded in the company: “When he goes, we don’t know what we’re going to do.” John’s work is divided between making the prototypes for new designs and fixing old shoes and boots sent in by concerned owners. Some of the footwear they get in for repairs is 20 years old, and he recognises every style and shape, like the bursar of an ancient college with old pupils. John was sewing hot wax thread into a roll-top, looking through the shoe to see if any light passes through the holes. If it does, the shoe is not properly sealed. “We sometimes say that we cannot do them,” he explains. “The boots might be just too far gone, but they always persuade us. They’ll say ‘just do your best’.” As if to confirm the truth of this, John is interrupted by a phone call from Missouri, where a client wants to know about his mending. We walk on around the workfloor, and I notice there is a real mix of old and new here. The huge cast-iron machines that are left (the others have gone to a museum) date back to the opening of the factory, each performing a single, simple task, such as fitting eyelets or cutting leather shapes. Most of them look like they should have a grease gun nearby at
all times. These machines were kept to safeguard the company’s traditional values, and they seem reassuringly dated. And yet, next to them, we found a row of space-age Gore-Tex boot linings, ready to be dunked in a water tank and filled with air to check for bubbling leaks. Monica, another member of the four-strong service team, was feeding a boot into a sewing machine. Everything here is done by hand with the help of machines. This side of the business will keep going no matter the cost, as Dubarry has a strong ethos of recycling and repair. They doggedly run the service at a loss – after all, a boot resole and reline is a mere £45. However, this works admirably in the company’s favour as, unlike any other shoe manufacturer, one can feel reassured that when you buy a pair of Dubarry boots or shoes, their wearing- out is merely you wearing them in.
For a quotation, email:
uk@dubarry.com
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