I am Nicholas Templeman, a shoemaker from London. I've lived here for pretty much all of my life and I've been very fortunate to be able to make bespoke shoes as a career. It's currently the year 2021 as I write this page, which by my count marks 14 years in the West End shoe industry for me, half of which has been here at the company bearing my name since it's establishment in 2014.
I was trained by John Lobb in London's West End, where following a traditonal apprenticeship I worked as a Lastmaker & Fitter. I had the pleasure of travelling throughout the USA and Europe as a representative and travel remains something I enjoy to this day, visiting the USA, Europe and the Far East in the Spring and Autumn.
Every pair of shoes produced is entirely hand crafted using techniques passed down through generations of shoe and bootmakers working in the renowned West End tradition, exclusively from the highest grade of materials available. Each pair is closely examined throughout it's manufacture to ensure that they are made to the highest standard possible.
Before a career in shoemaking beckoned, I took the first steps in training my eye and aesthetic sense during a Batchelors Degree in Fine Art where I was drawn to the various methods of printmaking. Improving the finished article by refining the technique quickly became the most enjoyable part of the creative process for me, and combining this with a longstanding obsession with shoes seemed to me to be an entirely logical step. Fortunately for me it was as straightforward as that, and it's this grounding established during both University and my apprenticeship that's remained to this day and driven me to be as dynamic and progressive in the craft as I can be.
Within the industry I've earned a reputation as a craftsman of the highest order, producing consistently excellent and gracefully executed work. The reason for forming my own company was to allow myself the ability to fully express my flair as a craftsman, my understanding of the possibilities available only through the bespoke process, and to offer a service to my customers as personalised as their shoes should be.
My aim is to provide every customer with footwear as unique as those entrusting me with their commission; reflecting the character of not only the person who made them, but equally the one who wears them.
