The Shoemaker’s Workshop

For many years, shoemakers – together with tailors – were the biggest profession among the craftsmen working in towns. A shoemaker did not need as much capital as some other craftsmen.

In the cities, shoemakers had permanent workshops. In the countryside, parish shoemakers went around the farms, mending and making new shoes. A pair of shoes was custom-made, and was made to last for a long time.

The shoemaker’s workplace was at the shoe counter next to the window, which provided light. A journeyman and an apprentice could also work around the counter. The shoemaker sat and worked on a three-legged stool.

Above the table hung a cobbler’s ball, which was used to provide stronger lighting. The spherical water lens was filled with water, and a candle was positioned behind it. When the light shone through the ball, it became centred and the lighting was improved. As well as shoemakers, engravers and goldsmiths – who needed good lighting – also used cobbler’s balls.

How a shoe was made

To make a shoe, the shoemaker used a last – a wooden model of a foot. These were often made by specialist last-makers, but many shoemakers made them themselves. A busy shoemaker could have several hundred lasts, and often had a pair for each customer. Smaller workshops could get by with 20 to 30 pairs.

Shoes were made from leather and hide, which is an important distinction for a shoemaker. Hide was used for the upper section of the shoe, with coarser leather being used for the soles. Each part of the shoe was stitched together by hand using cobbler’s thread, a linen thread dipped in tar to make it extremely strong. The thread had needles at each end, and was threaded into the hole from two sides to create a durable seam. Sewing the different upper sections together was called closing.

Machines transform craftsmanship

At the end of the 19th century, machines began to be used in shoemaking. The most important machine was the closing machine, an advanced sewing machine that could sew hide and leather. Sweden’s shoemaking industry was at its peak in the 1930s and 1940s. However, when shoe import regulations were relaxed in the 1950s, many shoe factories closed down.

With the Shoemaker’s Workshop, where real craftspeople can demonstrate and describe their craft, Skansen wants to promote the preservation of craftsmanship and intangible cultural heritage.

The family lived in the workshop

Not only did the shoemaker work in his workshop, the room was also his home. The living area in the workshop consisted of a few pieces of furniture: a kitchen bench, a table and a storage chest. At night, the bench was pulled out to become the family’s sleeping place. Food was prepared on a small iron stove.

The whole family would often be involved in the workshop, with even the children helping out with simple tasks.

The Shoemaker’s Home

The Shoemaker’s Home is a long timber building that has been painted with red whitewash. The building has a gable roof covered with turf. It is old-fashioned, being very narrow and having low ceilings. When you enter the building, the workshop is to the right. To the left is the comb maker’s workshop.

It has a small plot of land where tobacco or peas are grown. Most people in the city tried to get a small plot of land.

Moved to Skansen when Södermalm was cleared

In the late 1920s, Skansen began planning to build a block of buildings from the city. At the same time, the City of Stockholm had bought up old properties to demolish and create space for new, larger buildings. One of these was the building at Västgötagatan 36, which contained two dwellings.

Instead of being demolished, the building was moved to Skansen. In 1943, the Shoemaker’s Workshop was fitted out with equipment from a shoemaker’s workshop on Östermalm. Today, the building houses both the shoemaker’s workshop and a comb maker’s workshop.