William Clegg, shoemaker
It's important to wear footwear appropriate to where you are .. . and to work out what kind of slipper you like. I like the brown suede Ted Baker slippers I'm wearing. I got them last year, for Christmas. I like the full slip-on kind. If you haven't worked out what kind of slipper or shoe you prefer, you probably haven't worked out other things either. Footwear's an expression of who you are.
I became a shoemaker because . . .generations of my family, from my great-great grandfather William Clegg I, were shoemakers. Fashion and consumerism changed things and there was less call for shoemakers when my turn came, more a need for shoe repairers. But I always felt shoemaking was my birthright. We're put on this planet to work out who we are, what we can contribute, and I came to realise that shoemaking would be an expression of who I am. You can't contribute in a pair of crappy shoes. Not really.
I admire people who . . .know who they are and have overcome personal diversity to do what's in them to do.
Shoes make a difference . .. A customer said to me recently that we spend eight hours a day in bed and 16 on our feet, so we shouldn't buy cheap bed linen or cheap footwear. I agree with him.
I felt really good in Budapest last April when I finished making my first pair of shoes . . .whole/cut men's welted in tan leather. I felt great, in fact. I'd just completed an intense course in shoemaking and getting on the plane to come home, I knew I'd really achieved something.
London's where I'd like to be. . . if I didn't live and work in Dublin. Cordwainers College, for footwear designers and where Jimmy Choo studied, is in London. It joined forces with London College of Fashion some years ago. It'd be nice to be around all that – but I'm happy enough here.
When I want to relax . .. I explore the Wicklow mountains in a good pair of boots, reinforced with plenty of Dobbin waterproofer.
I started wearing a leather apron .. . just this year. My father and earlier generations wore aprons but I felt uncomfortable wearing one until I did the shoemaking course in Budapest and saw the point of it. They're usually cloth but I made mine out of a nice piece of hide. I wear it all the time. I don't feel ready for work now unless I have it on.
I sometimes have this fantasy . . .in which I'm not a shoemaker at all but a land artist, digging up the ground and making shapes. A landscape artist messing around with a JCB.
When a pair of shoes are made by hand . .. the shoemaker puts something of himself into them: he can't not. We all recognise that special quality in anything made by hand and the spirit of the maker is seen especially in a bespoke shoe. Having a unique pair of shoes made by a unique person for a unique person in a world of mass production is important.
I'm making a pair of shoes for myself . . .I had my feet measured and a last made of them in Northampton; now that I have the last I'll go on making my own shoes. The company in Northampton is the last of the wooden last makers, they're mostly made in China now, of plastic. I get lasts made for customers too, of course, prior to making them their shoes.
After a hard day on my feet I . . .love to eat. I don't keep a lot in the fridge so I sometimes treat myself in a local restaurant, al fresco whenever possible and preferably within sight of some historic buildings. Tiesan Café in Harrington Street is a favourite spot; a little touch of Paris in Dublin.
If the world economy collapsed tomorrow .. . I'd take my tools to a cattle farm and trade my skills for hides and food. I think I'd be quite happy.
William Clegg V’s shoe repair and shoemaking shop is at 124 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin, 6
In conversation with Rose Doyle
