Talking Craft, Inspiration, and Crickets With Brooklyn's Own Bespoke Shoemaker Francis Waplinger

After being trained in the shoemaking arts by some of the all-time greats—including Italian master Roberto Ugolini and US shoemaking gravitational center Marcell Mrsan—Francis Waplinger found himself making shoes in a barn. Nobody said bespoke shoemaking was supposed to be easy.

Juggling multiple jobs on the east end of Long Island while sharing that barn workspace with his artist wife, Francis persisted: honing his craft, creating a range of samples, and eventually landing that crucial first bespoke order. About half a decade later, Francis has settled into a Brooklyn studio to cater to a growing list of clients for his uniquely styled, Americana nostalgia-/art deco-inspired bespoke dress shoes (and, he promises, more boots soon!).

So what's it like to be a bespoke shoemaker? From the training, to the craft and toil, to figuring out how to manage the business side of a single-person operation? Francis is here to let it rip on all of that and more. 

This episode was sponsored by Coblr—the business management system powering the repair industry. https://www.coblros.com/

Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership

https://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/

Check out our site!

https://www.stitchdown.com/

2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.

https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/