Croatian Bespoke Shoes -- Strugar

In the past, one may have never known all of the possibilities he/she may have had when it came to the world of bespoke shoemaking, but thanks to the internet, this all over. Even me, I must admit, would have never thought about going to learn bespoke shoemaking in Croatia, Poland, Hungary or any other country outside of England, France, Italy and Japan, before my entrance into the world bespoke shoes. I guess being in America (especially in the NW far corner), where sometimes knowledge can be limited by naivety, due to it's vastness and detachment from the rest of the world, this is the perception that you get. But having started this blog, learning how to makes shoes, and simply being in Europe, you begin to understand, that the world of bespoke shoemaking is a lot bigger than you may think. And that brings us to Croatian bespoke shoemaker, Neno Strugar from Strugar. From what I gather, it seems to be that Strugar is a family run operation, where Nino might be the son of the founder. But nonetheless, he is making lovely shoes out of Croatia, doing bespoke, as well as made-to-order. And while I can't say that I am a fan of every toe shape, I believe that the combination of leathers, coloring and patinas are simply wonderful!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a long post about my trip to Paris.

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"