News & EventsNews & Events

Video | Ride Free

Posted on December 10th, 2012 by Red Wing Shoes

Roberto Rossi customized a Harley Davidson and named it ‘Stellalpina’ – Alpine Star. A sportster modified for mountain joyrides. Despite the fact that this video shines the spot on this amazing two-wheeler, the pair of boots worn during the freedom-ride have not come unnoticed by us. The green Mocs – style no. 8180 – are a personal favorite among the team in the Amsterdam office, and a rare style. Alessandro Viganò, the ‘mountaineer’ in this video got his hands on a pair by the time they were available.
‘Ride free‘ is the advice he gave us! Thank you Alessandro!

 

Boot of the Week | Style #8890

Posted on November 23rd, 2012 by Red Wing Shoes

A new addition to the collection, style no. 8890, was developed with Charcoal Rough & Tough leather. The color of this particular leather varies from grey to black, which is caused by the natural oil content infused at S.B. Foot Tanning Company. This so-called, “pull-up” effect gives the boots a gently worn aesthetic.




1960 Promotions

Posted on November 14th, 2012 by Red Wing Shoes

In the 1960s, Red Wing Shoes stepped away from traditional boot promotions and began engaging customers through inventive campaigns that relied on their participation. These campaigns not only raised brand awareness but also increased interaction between Red Wing Shoe stores and customers.

D&S Bootery, located in Minot, North Dakota, brought their Red Wing shoes to the North Dakota State fair in 1960. Along with the boots, they brought an Irish Setter dog to promote the Irish Setter brand. With the help of the new addition, over 15,000 people stopped at the booth to register for the free dog and check out the boots. In addition, over 10,000 Red Wing Shoe coupons were handed out. At the end of the state fair, the dog was placed with a new family.

One of the most popular promotions was the penny-a-pound program. With the penny-a-pound promotion, a customer received one penny off the price of their boots for every pound they weighed. The campaign highlighted Red Wing Shoes diversity and ability to fit all types of people with varying shoe sizes and widths. Penny-a-pound was loved by both Red Wing Shoe stores and customers, and ran longer than other promotions.

In 1961, customer’s competitive sides were unleashed with two contests held in the fall. Red Wing Shoe stores around the United States gave away a free pair of boots to the individual who presented the longest ear of corn or pheasant tail feather. Both contests were well received, and thousands of feathers and ears of corn were brought to stores across the US.

The diverse promotions brought different types of customers into the stores throughout the 1960s. Every store decided which nationwide promotions to participate in and how long to run them for. Some stores, like the D&S Bootery, invented their own promotions, to bring in large crowds.

 

The evolution of a color

Posted on November 5th, 2012 by Red Wing Shoes

As we announced earlier, the 4558 is now available in Red Wing Shoe Stores across Europe. The guys from Tenue de Nimes have dedicated a special to the Evolution of the boot’s color, which was introduced first in 1952, and has appeared in various reddish-orange colors throughout the years. A rich history we’re proud off.

Have a look and learn all about The Evolution of Color:

Tiny little Red Wings

Posted on October 24th, 2012 by Red Wing Shoes

We recently came across a unique and unexpected story thanks to one of our employees in Red Wing, Minnesota. Pictured here is a pair of “tiny” 877s, estimated to be a child size 12. Thoroughly enthralled with these tiny Red Wings, we spoke with Nancy, the aunt of the employee who brought this unique find to our attention, in order to learn the history behind these rare boots.

What Nancy told us is both remarkable and a testimony to the durability and longevity of a pair of Red Wing boots. Purchased used at a garage sale around 1969 or 1970, this pair of tiny Red Wings was worn by Nancy’s two brothers when they were four and five year olds. Once outgrown, they were passed on through Nancy’s family and worn by six other young boys over a thirty year span, including Nancy’s own son.

At one point, the boots were resoled by a Red Wing employee who replaced the iconic white crepe soles so the boots could continue their progression through the family.

“Many of our family members are in construction and homebuilding,” said Nancy. “Wearing these boots would make the kids feel like they were in construction, too. As soon as they put them on their whole personality would change into one of a little worker.”

After three generations and eight young boys, the boots are still in use today by Nancy’s grandson. And the only repair they have ever needed was a pair of new soles and some boot oil.

These little 877s have undoubtedly withstood the test of time and are a very remarkable and special family heirloom.

 

Style #4558 in Oro-Russet Portage

Posted on October 22nd, 2012 by Red Wing Shoes

From this saturday on (27th October), we shall offer another special boot in the Red Wing Shoe Stores.

The 4558’s origins stem from Red Wing’s 877 style which was introduced in 1952. They feature a Moc Toe design and Red Wing’s iconic white Traction Tred sole. The 877’s distinctive red-orange color leather was reminiscent of the fur of an Irish Setter hunting dog and soon the 877 family took on the nicknamed “Irish Setter.”

The 4558 is built with many of these same traits and is produced with full-grain Oro-Russet Portage leather. This leather was first used in 1992, when the original 877 was designed using a new red variety of Oro-Russet leather. In 1996, Red Wing Shoes changed that leather back to an earthier red color named Oro-Iginal which is what the 877 is built with today.

However, when this 1996 change was made there was still a high demand for the red-leathered 877 in Japan. Due to this demand, the 877 was rebuilt with this bold red leather, named Oro-Russet Portage.

Burg&Schild 5 year anniversary | Special #2007

Posted on October 17th, 2012 by Red Wing Shoes

The 20th of October we will join the festivities for Burg&Schild‘ fifth anniversary with owners Kay and Shane. As announced before here, this evening a boot specially made for this anniversary will be exclusively offered at their store in Berlin.

Since the opening in 2007, Red Wing Heritage has been one of the brands they offered in this truly unique men’s store. An exclusive Red Wing boot is our way of paying respect to this store’s dedication to quality pieces, of which we are lucky to be one.

Style #2007 – or the ‘Black Logger’ – will be a selected offer of 100 pieces only, and is part of a larger ‘Black Pack’ containing limited pieces by Stetson, IndigoFera and Edwin. It has been designed by Red Wing together with Kay and Shane. And the outcome is one serious boot. The 8″ boot comes in Black Harness leather, black Taslan laces and a black nitrile oil-resistant cord outsole.

A holy trip

Posted on October 10th, 2012 by Red Wing Shoes

Our friend and costume designer Markus traveled to amazing India, shooting an eventmovie for German television. The crew is shooting the movie in Jaipur, which happens to be the homebase for Salim, a well known mechanic for the famous Royal Enfield bikes. Markus and two of his crew-members Daniel and Alex could therefore not resist the opportunity of riding this classic in India. They rented three classic motorbikes and set out to the holy city of Pushna, on a 3 day trip. Pushna revealed the many Temples, holy men and authentic beauty of India’s people to them. Now that is a good ‘trip’. Having survived the crazy traffic, where rules are the unknown, Markus sent us some great shots (shot by Alex Fischerkoesen) from their brief journey. Thanks for sharing Markus!

 

 

 

Burg&Schild Berlin | #2007

Posted on October 4th, 2012 by Red Wing Shoes

On the 20th of October, Burg&Schild will celebrate their fifth anniversary. In 2007, Kay and Shane opened up one of the finest stores in Berlin and Europe when you’re looking for great jeans and all products related. Also, they were one of the pioneers in Europe that helped to grow Red Wing Heritage with a large part of the store dedicated to our boots.

To join their festivities, we developed style number 2007. The “Black Logger” will be part of a special Black collection where they hooked up with some of their favorite brands. We’re honored to be one of them!

 

The Puritan Machine

Posted on September 20th, 2012 by Red Wing Shoes

The Puritan Machine has been part of traditional shoemaking since 1893 and is one that we continue to use today. The Puritan Stitch is created with a multi-needle row machine that allows us to create the signature Red Wing Shoes triple stitch on the uppers of our boots.

The Puritan machine doesn’t use bobbins; instead the thread is driven into the leather and re-hooked to create the stitch. As the thread is pulled from the spool, it goes through a wax reservoir that makes the thread soft and pliable. Once the thread is stitched into the uppers, the wax hardens, locking the stitches into place.

For over 100 years, we have been using the Puritan machines, maintaining our zero stitch failure record. Our Puritan machines have been around for decades. Because the machines can now be considered antiques, replacement parts are no longer available for them. Red Wing Shoes has a mechanical staff that re-creates the old parts to keep the machines running.

If you ever get the chance to tour a Red Wing Shoes factory, you’ll see that the machines look like they are wearing leather jackets. In the 1980s, leather wraps were made for the Puritan machines to minimize noise and to protect the machines from the hot wax reservoir on top, maximizing the lifespan of the Puritan machines.

Photo from 1964 of the vamp and quarter being stitched by the Puritan.