At Artemis Design Co., our whole chain of production is hands-on and handmade. Our head-cobbler in Istanbul works in the family business started by his father, and employs other highly skilled and respected cobblers, some of whom have been creating shoes for forty years.
" There is a particular pleasure and romance in watching something being created the same way as it has been for centuries. You can lose yourself in time inside our artisan's workshop in Istanbul. The skills, the textiles, the techniques--even the sounds and smells will unmoor you. "
We make most of our products from vintage Turkish textiles known as kilims, and each pair of handmade Artemis shoes takes two full days to create.
Our kilims are vintage, up to thirty years old, and are sourced from all over regional Turkey. Some of the most beautiful handmade rugs may have been damaged at some point in their history, and we delight in being able to upcycle these for preservation.
Once our carpets are carefully selected for use, we are able to match colors and motifs together before cutting to ensure that every pair of shoes is truly unique.
Our handmade process allows for special attention to detail in the areas of stitching and gluing that we know are most important to the longevity of the shoe. Tiny refinements over the many years of our business ensure that our textiles, techniques, and designs will endure to be lasting treasures.
Our kilims are typically made from the natural wool of hardy grazing sheep. This wool is an excellent renewable and sustainable source of fiber that is very durable and takes dyes well. The use of natural fabrics and fibres such as leather and wool ensure that Artemis shoes can flex and breathe to accommodate each individual foot, while retaining their smart, right-out-of-the-box shape.
Walk a mile in our kilim loafers and write to us – we never get tired of hearing about how comfortable our shoes are, and neither do our cobblers!
" When we create a new style or product, I put the finished product on the table and just “watch it” for a little while. It’s such a pleasure to see a product come to life and see how beautiful it turned out. It’s such hard work to create a new product, so this is such a satisfying moment for me. "
--Our Head Cobbler, Artemis Design Co., Istanbul
Ours is a love story; a magical carpet ride started in 2007 when designer Milicent Armstrong first fell in love with shoes and bags made from vintage Kilim carpets on a trip to Istanbul.
At Artemis Design Co., our chain of production is hands-on and handmade. Our kilim products are crafted from hand-sourced vintage textiles, and each pair of shoes takes two full days to create.
