New Explorations
In our most beloved content feature, we are excited to highlight new makers in a twist on the traditional footwear submissions. Whether you are new to the game of properly rebuildable footwear or well versed with a deep collection of your own, The Patina Post is an enlightening look at how lifestyles are reflected through diverse leather and pattern configurations. Check out another series of seriously special goods that evolve in color, finish, shape, and character to match their wearer when taken to the fields, woods, streets, and beyond.
For this edition we want to acknowledge a couple loyal and longtime clients as representatives of the Division Road Army who participated in the first Stichdown.com Patina Thunderdome. Many of the Thunderdome submissions from our roster of collaborations were rarities and limited run releases, but for these two top contenders we had the original pair required to properly document a full Patina Post transition. Let these fantastic make-ups that have been worn hard and put away patina’d honor the many who put our collaborations to the Thunderdome test and trial.
Viberg x DR - Natural Waxed Flesh Service Boot
7 Months
Aaron - @aaronhuebner
Whites x DR - Cinnamon Waxed Flesh & Natural CXL LTT Logger 375
7 Months
Hank - @ohmayer2019
On to our personal rotations. Over this last season we enjoyed putting some heavy wear into our Crockett & Jones, Tricker’s, and White’s during the challenging journey of building out Division Road HQ and The Fields, relieved by the gift of a good pair of boots for reflectively roaming our new land. We’re now in an environment that expedites the break-in process and many of our prized pieces undergo true tests of hard wears in the rugged outdoors with a lifestyle more closely aligned to the workwear and industrial standards that our products are built to satisfy.
Footwear Care
Due to the nature of the production methods, craftsmanship, and materials used for our footwear, we take a minimalist’s approach to our “restorations.” The first step is a thorough cleaning with a water-dampened cloth from upper to sole to remove dirt and debris. Then, we treat the welts and midsoles with leather conditioning wipes or Venetian shoe cream. Finally, we apply either Saphir Greasy Leather Crème or Renovateur (the conditioner selection is dictated by the tannage type) to fully moisturize and replenish the leather with its natural oils and reactivate the original tanning recipe.
For suedes and roughouts, we brush heavily to renew the nap, much like the process of sanding wood. If alarmingly dry, we’ll hydrate with Saphir Renovateur Suede Spray to breath some life back into the flesh. We do not use waterproofing, tinted creams, or polishes with any of our leathers as they are top quality, full-grain, and often full-weight hides that perform as nature intended and are further advanced through complicated tanning recipes that make them even more robust. With a baseline of care and a simple conditioning regimen, the footwear we specialize in will fully embrace patina and yield an authentic character.
Crockett & Jones
The addition of Crockett & Jones to the roster of collaborators with Division Road was notable as this maker rarely engages in special make-ups to the extent we present, and our audience has been hyper excited to see what aesthetic and functional configurations we could push forward with this esteemed traditional producer. Trusting the DR taste level and attitude towards craft, faithful collectors of other brands who have been stepping into their first pair of C&J are relishing the experience and the results have been amazing to see.
While known for their refined production standards in tonal and dress-forward footwear, Crockett & Jones craft pieces somewhere between resoleable and rebuildable to be more approachable for daily use than an exclusively outdoor-focused industrial boot, while granting the same longevity and robustness in the wilds. With our propensity to design footwear that offer endless convertibility for regular wear, Division Road has given the market more casual leaning make-ups executed to the tremendously high standards of Crockett & Jones craftsmanship. C&J takes seriously an oft-overlooked step in development that many other makers don’t even consider, that of modifying the upper pattern to closely align to each differing Last. This allows the leather to form closely to the intended shape and fit of the Last in production, which impacts the life of the footwear. The result is not only precise sizing to a Last regardless of pattern or leather, but an accelerated opening of the boot or shoe coupled with greater molding accuracy around the foot to provide a perfected long-term fit and character-rich patina development.
Crockett & Jones x DR Chocolate Hurricane Hide Moray - Ephriam
4 Months – 1 Restore
Crockett & Jones x DR Dark Brown Roughout Suede Ross - Jason
6 Months – 2 Restores
Crockett & Jones x DR Natural Hurricane Hide Coniston - Lauren
4 Months – 1 Restore
Crockett & Jones x DR Earth Green Suede Coniston - Lauren
2 Months – 1 Restore
Crockett & Jones x DR Black Roughout Suede Sandhurst - Ephriam
2 Months – 1 Restore
Crockett & Jones x DR Snuff Suede Grasmere - Jason
2 Months – 1 Restore
Tricker’s
One of our original collaborators, Tricker’s is a maker we’ve been passionate about for over a decade and some of our first exclusives remain fan favorites. In the initial years, our make-up formula with Tricker’s was to remain true to the designer-based heritage revival approach of mixing dress leathers with the rugged, outdoor-focused build that bridged the runway with the back woods. Over the years we have continued to experiment and work more closely with this nearly two-century old family-owned manufacturer to build a robust program of make-ups through a continually evolving formula using specialty sourced leathers from Horween and Charles F. Stead. In addition, we’ve pulled patterns from the archives and developed different pattern-to-Last combinations to design special collectables for our clients’ rotations.
From the first Tricker’s collaboration that used a specialty Horween tannage on one of our Capsule Collection projects five years ago to a decent majority of our make-ups that present the more casual and natural hides of this famous tannery, a strong US-UK alliance between Horween, Tricker’s, and Division Road has developed. Leveraging our other favorite tannery, Charles F. Stead, England’s most notable producer of wild and waxed hides, we’ve crafted an assembly of modern Tricker’s make-ups that smoothly combine the casual, formal, and directional designer aesthetics with a country build. You’ll see patina transformations that range from subtle to dramatic as testament that a Tricker’s maintains its air of elegant stoicism regardless of the conditions.
Tricker’s x DR Horween Natural Dublin Churchill - Jason
4 Months – 1 Restore
Tricker’s x DR CF Stead Flint Kudu Reverse Stow - Lauren
6 Months – 1 Restore
Tricker’s x DR Baltic Waxed Kudu & Natural CXL Super Monkey - Lauren
3 Months – 1 Restore
Tricker’s x DR Horween Natural Dublin Robert - Ephriam
1 Month – 1 Restore
White’s
Our work with White’s Boots is a relatively recent addition that has garnered solid footing with the Division Road Army while attracting new recruits. Representing the true definition of fully rebuildable, White’s specializes in multi-paneled construction by using additional layers of full weight hides for cap toes, counters, and in some cases the vamp to allow for actual replacement of those individual pieces, along with the standard welt, midsole, and sole upon service. Another exclusive recipe of a White’s is the technique of combining hand-welting and stitchdown construction, executed individually by the hands of one of their highly trained craftsmen, from pattern through lasting and welting. This boot making tradition allows for all-leather construction with a unique leather shank and counter structure that provide flexibility and support as the boot adapts to each foot through a lifetime of wear.
As our industrial-level craft jewel, most of our White’s make-ups follow a strict formula of staying true to specifications and Lasts that speak into their logging and work boot history. We’ve leaned a little more street and subtly more refined with our White’s, yet they maintain the rugged sensibility and robust hand grade craftsmanship techniques that are signature to the brand. Looking to present timeless products that bridge modern innovation and alignment with the past, our exclusive White’s use Chromexcel hand welts that are color coordinated to midsole finishing, highlighting the construction method unique to this maker.
