Shopping for calzados!

I traveled to Santiago in October to help Claudia with getting her home ready for her mom to move in. Even though it was spring there, it felt like our summer. 

When I was there in the winter, I recalled seeing many great shoe stores - many of them made in Santiago or in neighboring countries. I told Claudia that I wanted to buy a nice pair of shoes or boots - we spent a couple of days and visited many (over 50 zapaterias and cobblers). 

What surprised me was the difference in styles, workmanship and materials. We found a few really good quality makers but landed on two that really stood out. We spoke with the proprietors to learn more about their process and how they operated. This was really cool and I learned a lot about the shoe making process. 

I purchased a really nice pair of blue leather boots (see above). They had a unique style and they fit perfectly! The price was quite reasonable considering the high quality of the boots. 

I said to Claudia that men in Canada would love to have boots like these. Good footwear is easy to find in Canada - great footwear not so much. Claudia and I decided at that time to explore the idea of selling these shoes in Canada - part of this decision was dependent on how these boots held up after a number of months of wearing them.

This was the very beginning of the Franco Silva Zapateria.