From assembly line to craftsperson

“Bespoke” is not a common term; likewise, taking the time and patience to apply a high degree of customization to a product is rare. Luckily for Jon Gray, there are enough “well-heeled” customers around the world who take comfort in the luxury and tradition of handmade shoes. “It reflects the past,” says Gray, “back when people wore decent shoes and took care of them like they would a piece of art.” 

Growing up in small-town Dundas, Ont., Gray, now 36, was surrounded by handmade treasures. “My father was a career firefighter who was also a fine craft artist,” he says. “He liked using found objects like car parts.” Though only a craftsman by hobby, Gray’s father made an effort to inspire his son, exposing him to all forms of art and design. The most impactful father–son field trip was a tour of a shoe shop when Gray was a teenager. “I’ll always remember the smell of leather and the old tools,” says Gray. “I wouldn’t have thought about wearing anything but sneakers at the time, but there was something about that shop I was deeply interested in.”

Gray turned inspiration into action in high school, working for Ambulatory Footwear in Dundas. Without formal training available in North America, he participated in a five-year apprenticeship, eventually becoming a certified orthopedic footwear specialist. This forced him to finely tune his technique to accommodate a range of foot abnormalities and deformities. But, as is tradition in orthopedics, it didn’t provide a lot of design challenges. Luckily, Gray had the opportunity to work with “upper-makers.” 

Uppers are the portion of the shoe that covers the top of the foot. Paying close attention to the tricks of the trade, Gray called upon those skills when he moved to Nova Scotia in 2001 and began working at Handmade Shoes in Granville Ferry in the Annapolis Valley. “It was an education on how to make uppers,” he says. “It might be period shoes one day, science fiction the next, maybe a fashion shoe. It broadened my range of abilities and speed.”

During his time at Handmade Shoes, Gray had worked on a shoe order for the musical Wicked on Broadway. “It was runway fashion meets munchkin,” he says. “We were given a lot of different types of materials to work with, and the designs were very complicated, so it really helped hone my skills.” 

The assembly-line approach to a mass order of handmade shoes began to force him in another direction. More comfortable as a craftsman than a link in the chain, Gray could no longer fight his entrepreneurial urges. “I didn’t want to rely on someone else, and it became obvious that I’m a self-motivated worker and know how I want a business to run and the way a product should look,” he says. “I was moving in the direction of self-employment whether I liked it or not.”

In September of 2010, Gray opened Jon Gray Bespoke in Annapolis Royal. As the master of his own shop, he has the opportunity to control each element of his artistry. From taking a client’s measurements to dying and stretching the leather, it’s an art form that Gray follows to a high standard. “People are attracted to the ability and the customization of each shoe,” he says. “My leathers breathe easily, and my insoles are made out of leather and wick away moisture.”

This attention to detail comes at a price—about $1,000 a pair. However, as Gray points out, a large portion of his customer base looks at their investment not just as a luxurious accessory but also as a piece of artwork they’ll have forever—with the proper maintenance, of course. “I’m a craftsman who takes pride in good work,” he says. “Once you have a pair of shoes made for you, there’s a huge distinction between a factory product and a customized art piece.”