cordwainers

A cordwainer is a traditional craftsman who makes shoes and boots from new leather, handling the full process from pattern creation to the finished article. Unlike a cobbler, who repairs or resole existing footwear, a cordwainer typically constructs footwear from raw leather supplied by tanners. The term is chiefly historical, but it is still used in some contexts to denote skilled shoemakers who work by hand.

Etymology and history: The word cordwainer derives from cordwain, a fine leather once produced in Cordoba, Spain, and later from the Old French cordewain. In medieval Europe, cordwainers formed a discrete trade as shoemaking grew beyond simple repairs. In England the craft was organized into the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers, a guild dating to the Middle Ages and one of the City’s historic livery companies. Similar guilds existed in other regions; with the rise of industrial footwear manufacturing, the traditional cordwainer’s role contracted, but bespoke and artisanal shoemaking preserved the craft.

Modern practice: In contemporary usage, cordwainer is often synonymous with a skilled shoemaker who makes leather footwear by hand, especially high-quality or bespoke shoes. Education and training emphasize pattern making, leather selection, cutting, lasting, stitching and welt construction (Goodyear or Blake), finishing and fitting. While many brands use the general term “shoemaker” or “cobbler,” some artisans prefer cordwainer to emphasize the use of new leather and the construction of the entire shoe.