Having learned how to dye leather working for a sofa company, Simon Bourne has launched his own, wholly individual business supplying hand-dyed shoes. Sarah Millington meets him

VISITING the website for Simon Bourne’s business, The Hand Dyed Shoe Company, the most striking thing is the man himself. The site includes a video of Simon, sitting in what appears to be the middle of a river at a small wooden table, wearing a leather apron, dyeing shoes. He looks every inch the eccentric, with hair swept over to one side, tattooed arms and a full ginger beard. The impression is reinforced when you meet him.

“I have a unique style – I think that’s fairly evident,” says the 30-year-old, who lives in Langley Park, Durham. “I call myself a sofa-selling, camera-hugging shoemaker extraordinaire.”

If there’s one thing Simon doesn’t lack, it’s personality, and it is his distinctive character that lies behind his latest venture selling hand-made, hand-dyed shoes. There are currently three styles – a Chelsea boot named Mr Bovine, a whole cut Derby (so called because it’s made from a single piece of leather), Mr Angus; and a brogue, Mr Rump. The names are indicative of Simon’s slightly off-the-wall sense of humour.

“People who have bought them have bought the fun factor,” he says. “Every single pair of shoes is different. I think people really buzz off that.”

Simon is thriving in his role, feeling that he has finally found his niche. He comes from a background in local government, and previously worked for Durham County Council in digital marketing. When, in 2011, the threat of redundancy loomed, he felt it was his time to go, so left without any real idea of what he was going to do next. It was while he was out sofa shopping that an opportunity presented itself.

“I went to the Original Sofa Company in Gateshead and met a chap called David Robinson, who’s the owner, and – long story short – I bought a sofa, told him about my current position and offered my services,” says Simon. “From there, I began working there every Sunday, voluntarily initially, and then it became a paid position.”

Despite his lack of experience, Simon made himself indispensable, drawing on his digital marketing background to promote the company online. This freed up David to pursue his ambitions of opening a store in London’s Chelsea and a concession in Harrods, selling the Chesterfields for which he was renowned. Simon was fascinated by the firm’s old-fashioned techniques and learned how to dye leather the traditional way.

“The key USP of the Original Sofa Company is that they manufacture the sofa in raw leather and then use a water-based dye to quite literally paint it using a sponge,” he says. “It goes back to the early 19th Century. Before that they had such a thing as a tannery so this was the only way they could colour any kind of leather furniture. I think there are some other companies that do it, but certainly the Original Sofa Company does it in quite a unique way.”

Ever eager to explore new avenues, Simon was in the workshop one day when he noticed pieces of scrap leather and thought they could be put to good use. He decided to branch out on his own, marrying his love for shoes with his knowledge of hand-dyeing. The first task was to find a manufacturer, and Simon settled on a workshop in Spain – famous for producing high-quality footwear.

"The shoes they make are my design and they’re made exclusively for me,"he says. "The idea is that they make me a pair of shoes in raw leather and I dye them. There are all kinds of different colours – the world is your oyster really. If someone was to contact me and say, ‘I’m looking for a really light green’, I can mix that.”

Keen to keep the cost of his shoes reasonable, with prices starting at £195, Simon also wanted to ensure they were of the highest quality. To make them waterproof, he has chosen a hardwearing Blake welt, and each pair is lined with goatskin for maximum comfort. For Simon, the beauty of his shoes is the character of the leather.

“Each piece has different characteristics, so if you took a square inch of leather, it will have maybe one million pores and there will be only 750,000 in another. The amount of pores per square inch, the little leather scars and the flea bites mean that each shoe is going to take the dye differently, so while the shoes are going to match, they’re going to have different patina. This is where the slogan ‘perfect imperfection’ comes in.”

From the order being placed, shoes take about 12 weeks to complete. The traditional styles make them popular with grooms, though Simon feels they go equally well with jeans as a tailored suit, and, like many things made from leather, they improve with age. “When they first come they look really shiny and very new,” he says. “The fact that they’re so well made – that Blake welt stitch – should see them last five to ten years comfortably.”

With men becoming increasingly image-conscious and shoes a key part of any look, Simon believes his shoes represent a mixture of old-fashioned style and contemporary cool. He knows that creating demand is essential, and hopes to get customers to buy into his distinctive brand.

“My main route to market is wedding and craft fairs and things like that,” he says. "If I’m at my stall dyeing shoes and people walk past, they will be wowed by it. It’s all about the brand really – just expanding the coolness and the desire of it. Who doesn’t want to be chilled and wearing some nice shoes and looking funky?

“I look at companies like The Cambridge Satchel Company. My thing in my head is that if I can get everybody to think, ‘I don’t want a pair of shoes unless they’re hand-dyed’, that’s the challenge I’ve got and what I see myself having to tackle over the next five years or so.”

Having only been going a few months, The Hand Dyed Shoe Company is still in its infancy, meaning that Simon still has a day job at the Sofa Workshop in the MetroCentre. That doesn’t limit his ambitions, though – in fact, he has the future all mapped out.

“I’ve been asked about women and I do plan to expand into that market, but at the minute I have three men’s styles and I want to expand the range to nine and also extend to accessories – wallets, belts and things like that,” he says. “Within 12 months I would quite like to maybe have a store where people could come and choose their shoes and try them on and there would be a shoe artist painting shoes.

“Further down the line, I would like to maybe think about a concession in a large brand like Topman. Harrods would be incredible. I’m not looking to become a millionaire next week – I’m just looking to establish myself. This is just my little dream, if you like.”

  • handdyedshoeco.com