Meet the Factory

Meet our Spanish Family.  These are the people that make your shoes.

 

When we describe our brand we say we are “footwear designed in California and made in Spain.” Producing in Spain is core to who we are.  Our factories and team there has become family. With transparency being a leading force in the fashion industry today, consumers have both the ability and responsibility to know where their clothes and accessories are from. We could not be more proud to show you our factory in the Alicante region of Spain and introduce you to the men and women that (hand) make your shoes.

 

 

 

Pilar (who is our daily contact in Spain organizes all of our production) + Pedro (one of the two brothers that own our Factory) in the cutting room looking at our black croc leather. Pedro showing Megan and Cristina images from his mountain biking holiday this past summer.

 

 

Pedro hand cuts a lot of our shoes using paper patterns and a tool he has owned for over 20 years. 

 

 

Once the uppers are cut, they are hand-sewn and all linings and interfacings are put in.

 

 

Fina skives the leather, which means, she thins out the edges so they are thin enough to stitch together. 

 

 

 

Old World construction. We feel so lucky to work with our team here. Every detail of every shoe is thoughtfully crafted. The leather is hand-pulled over the last (the shoe form) to take its shape and then a machine applies additional pressure.

 

 

Lola is finishing the shoes.  It is so touching to see how close everyone is.  They have been working together so long they have an unspoken rhythm.  There’s a buzz at the factory of machines, conversation, and laughter.

 

 

Our KEEN black croc on the line waiting to be finished, which means cleaned, polished, and packed.

 

 

Reme telling Cris and Megan how she’s in a competitive Handball league and that her 20-year-old daughter is on the same team. 

 

 

 

One of our favorite things to see at the factory.  They have an ever-changing bulletin board that’s updated with new imagery of FREDA, team parties, and other personal pictures of friends and family.

 

 

Megan looking for Cris. (hahaha, not really, but probably!) And a mountain of FREDA’s waiting to be shipped to our warehouse in Sausalito.

At the end of our quick visit, we shared a love-filled goodbye.  Raul, in the green, is the man that runs all of our production.  Cristina’s grandfather met him on a train in Italy decades ago and became his mentor.  He has been like an uncle to Cris her whole life and now he’s part of FREDA’s family.

Please feel free to write us any questions if you are interested in hearing more about our factory or process. We love talking about this side of our business!

Xo,

Cristina and Megan