Craft – Sabah UK

That's Yilmaz! He's hand stitching the leather upper to the sole of the shoe at the Sabah Workshop in Gaziantep, Turkey.

Sabahs are really quite simple — the thoughtful combination of three elements: our high quality, thoughtfully produced leather, a unique hand-stitched construction and skilled human hands.

The result is a distinct looking pair of shoes, which are uniquely comfortable & flexible without losing durability. The idea of Sabahs is that they should initially fit snug to your feet as they will stretch & mold over time, becoming more beautiful and more comfortable with every step.

The thin rubber outsole, added to every pair to protect the leather sole, can easily be replaced, allowing your Sabahs to live many lives — and contribute to a lifestyle that values quality over quantity. Sabahs are not inexpensive to produce, nor to purchase, but for the quality, versatility and wearability - they are unmatched in the value they deliver.

We are passionate about what we make — the details, the quality, and the stories of the people behind every element. I’d encourage you to read on to learn more about our craft.

Enjoy!

Sincerely,
Mickey Ashmore
Owner, Sabah

Our Materials

When I started Sabah, I didn’t know a thing about making shoes. But I quickly learned, the best design and the sturdiest construction is only as good as the underlying materials. In our case, it's all about the leather.

At Sabah, we exclusively use high quality, top grade leather. We have three main priorities with our leathers: (1) the promise to age beautifully with wear, (2) a natural tannage to ensure the leathers mold to one's feet comfortably and (3) to work with tanneries we know, trust and are eco-certified by the Leather Working Group.

Sabahs are free of synthetic materials, which have a tendency to break down (not age beautifully), smell, and become less, rather than more, comfortable with time.

Working in the shoe business since 2013, we’ve created relationships with a few of the best leather makers around the world. From Turkish family owned run tanneries that have been in business for generations to our leather providers in El Paso, Texas who have access to high quality, 100% veg tanned saddle leathers and beyond, we work closely with them to ensure we get only the best.

As we’ve grown, we’ve gone from buying existing leather stock to working hand-in-hand with these master tanners to develop leather articles that are proprietary to Sabah, not only in color, but in the characteristics that make them perfect for our type of shoe and the use of our customers. Great leather is mostly in the subtle details, the underlying tanning process and the original source of the hide — only over time will you understand whether the leather is high quality or not. We do that upfront work to ensure every hide, every cut and every pair ages just right.

At our workshops, we employ a leather manager, whose job is to carefully inspect and select the best hides from every batch we receive. We guarantee your Sabahs are made from the world’s finest leather, produced with integrity and care.

Three Leathers Make a Sabah:

The Upper

This is the colorful leather that is most visible and makes up the top part of the shoe. We use cow leathers for our upper; primarily vegetable-tanned or semi-vegetable tanned. Generally soft to the touch, but robust enough to break in nicely and perform well over time. We work with smooth leathers, nubucks, suede, and hair-on leathers too.

The Buffalo Sole

Perhaps the most salient characteristic of a Sabah is the water buffalo leather that acts as the true sole of the shoe. A thing of the past, requiring a very traditional and time-consuming tanning process, few shoemakers employ the use of water buffalo nowadays because it's hard to find and difficult to work with. However, it's quite a magical leather — providing an amazing combination of durability & comfort, molding to one's feet, and staying uniquely fresh over time. Sabah's never smell, and that's due to our use of great leather and most notably water buffalo leather which is naturally anti-microbial.

The Lining

Sabahs are lined with vegetable-tanned, all-natural, and high-quality leather. The lining is super comfortable and, thanks to it's natural characteristics, ages beautifully and does not smell over time. It's important to us, that even the lining leather of Sabahs is top quality.

The Construction

Every pair of Sabahs is entirely handmade, using minimal glue and a unique hand-stitched sole construction that has been passed down for generations within a few families in southeast Turkey.

The result of this process — a pair of shoes that is flexible, able to mold to one’s feet without compromising on durability.

Sabahs are hand lasted — the process of wrapping the colorful leather uppers over the plastic mold of a foot to dictate size and form. Hand lasting is difficult and strenuous but allows the craftsmen to manipulate each piece of leather, understanding its unique characteristics, to form the perfect pair of Sabahs. A dying art, hand lasting is essential to the form of Sabahs as a machine cannot understand the nuance of the leather.

Sabahs are primarily held together by a single waxed thread that is hand sewn around the sole, binding together all four pieces of leather into a shoe. This style of construction is unique to Sabah and a few shoemakers in Turkey. It requires months of training to learn, and years to perfect. Since starting Sabah, we’ve created a training program to recruit and train new stitchers- we now employ nearly ten. As we expand our operations to El Paso, Texas we are experimenting with other stitching processes such as “Lock Stitch” — a method of stitching, which intertwines two threads, one from the bottom and one from the top, creating a strong bond so that even if one stitch is worn away the other stitches will not unravel and will remain as strong as ever.

As a final step, we apply a rubber outsole to every pair of Sabahs with a combination of heat, glue and pressure. This sole is intended to protect the stitching and sole and should be replaced as needed to maximize the longevity of your Sabahs.

Our Makers

The Sabah Story is ultimately a human story — every pair we make passes through the talented hands of the individuals featured below, the craftsmen of our first Sabah Workshop in Gaziantep, Turkey and our second workshop in El Paso, Texas. You'll notice that every pair of Sabahs has a letter written on the inside, simply with a ballpoint pen. That's the initial of the maker responsible for your pair.

Orhan is from Gaziantep and used to have his own shoemaking workshop. He joined Sabah a few years ago to manage our leather stock. He ensures everything is running smoothly between leather selection and cutting. His older brother, Mehmet, is the head of quality control at the Sabah Atelier. Orhan has three daughters.

Orhan

Workshop Manager, Gaziantep

Ali skillfully sews the upper leathers of every pair of Sabahs. He joined the Sabah atelier a few years ago having fled the Syrian civil war in Aleppo for southeast Turkey. He is now taking English lessons and we converse in a mixture of Turkish, English and Arabic. Ali is always smiling as you can see.

Ali

Upper Sewer, Gaziantep

Cihan is from Gaziantep, Turkey. He joined the Sabah Atelier more than two years ago as an apprentice to our master stitcher. He can now stitch 12 pairs per day. He signs every pair of Sabahs he stitches with a vertical line “|”. His father also works in the Atelier as a stitcher. On the weekends, he plays football (“soccer”) with his friends.

Cihan

Junior Stitcher, Gaziantep

Ali cuts the leather for almost every pair of Sabahs we make. He is from Aleppo, Syria. He left Aleppo with his wife to escape the civil war. He joined the Sabah workshop as he was previously cutting leather in a high heel shoe factory in Aleppo.

Ali

Leather Cutter, Gaziantep

Yilmaz is from Gaziantep. He was previously a shoe salesman in Gaziantep’s ancient bazaar selling traditional slippers. He wanted to learn to stitch because he prefers to be an artist and sees stitching as an art. He signs every pair of Sabahs he stitches with a horizontal line “-”.

Yilmaz

Stitcher, Gaziantep

He is from Gaziantep, Turkey. He is the quality control manager of Sabah production and also handles the packaging and counting of every pair before they leave Gaziantep for New York City. In other words, he keeps us organized and accountable. The consistency and quality of Sabahs has come along way since we started making them!

Erol

Control Manager, Gaziantep

He is from Gaziantep, Turkey. As part of our recruitment effort to grow the workshop, Ismael began to learn the craft of stitching and is now one of our most proficient stitchers. He also trains the younger generations. In his free time, he loves to play backgammon and soccer with his friends. He is also an avid movie watcher.

Ismael

Stitcher, Gaziantep

Kemal is from Gaziantep, Turkey. He is the newest member of the Sabah workshop having joined us just after completing high school. He is responsible for the detailed cleaning of each pair after it is stitched and is also in-training to become a Sabah stitcher. He is almost ready.

Kemal

Stitcher, Gaziantep

Bulent is responsible for lasting one out of every three pairs of Sabahs produced. Lasting, the process of wrapping the leathers around a plastic form to set the shape of the shoe, is one of the most difficult jobs because it requires a mix of precision and extreme strength. Bulent also loves to cook, especially barbecue.

Bulent

Laster, Gaziantep

Atilla has been a shoemaker for over 20 years and has been with Sabah since day one. He is responsible for lasting, the process of wrapping the leathers around a plastic form to set the shape of the shoe. After work, he is a dedicated family man and loves spending time with his wife and children.

Atilla

Laster, Gaziantep

While lasting Sabahs, Huseyin is always cracking jokes in the Sabah workshop. He is a real comedian. He has been in shoemaking for over 15 years now. In his free time, he plays a lot of backgammon with his friends, enjoys a good Turkish Kebab, and is a big fan of Turkish football.

Huseyin

Laster, Gaziantep

Mehmet oversees quality control at all stages of production at the Sabah workshop. With over thirty years experience in shoemaking, he joined the Sabah workshop as we expanded the team and production capacity. Since he joined, the refinement and attention to detail of every pair has increased immensely.

Mehmet

Quality Control, Gaziantep

Ricardo started working as an apprentice shoe maker at thirteen and has been working in the industry ever since. He’s opened his own factories, worked for other prestigious footwear manufacturers and ultimately has found himself settled in El Paso near his kids, working as a master stitcher at the Sabah workshop.

Ricardo

Master Stitcher & Shoe Maker, El Paso

Frank has lived in El Paso all his life, learning the ins and outs of the shoe making industry while working for one of the most well known boot makers in the area. He’s an expert in leather and oversees the Sabah leather warehouse with great care and knowledge. He’s quiet, humble and key to the success of our Sabah El Paso workshop.

Frank

Master Leather Technician & Cutter, El Paso

Native to El Paso, Brenda has worked for years as an expert stitcher for one of the most premier western boot makers in the area. Brenda is expanding her shoe making skills at the Sabah workshop, where she specifically stitches uppers and hand lasts Babas with great precision. We are delighted to have Brenda on our team.

Brenda

Master Stitcher & Hand Laster, El Paso

Daniel is a quick and ambitious learner, always wearing a smile as he diligently performs his workshop tasks. His grandfather is French and he would like to learn the language someday. He’s also passionate about Corrido, a form of narrative song popular in Mexico and the southwest and hopes to form his own band one day.

Daniel

Apprentice, El Paso

Jesus comes from a family of shoe makers. Jesus’ father began teaching him the trade at age nineteen, just like his father taught him. He’s one of the strongest lasters we’ve ever met – a process that involves tightly wrapping the leathers around the plastic form to set the shape of the shoe. Born in El Paso, Jesus lives in Juarez with his wife and children.

Jesus

Master Hand Laster, El Paso

Byron is developing his shoe making skills and forming a long term career in manufacturing. Two evenings a week he plays soccer with friends in the forward position, he’s fast on the field and in the workshop, quiet, yet precise in every task he’s given.

Byron

Apprentice, El Paso

Since childhood, Roberto has been crafting western style boots. Without lifting his head he could make an exquisitely constructed boot from start-to-finish. As a second hand laster, he helps move the shoes through the most laborious part of the shoe making process. When not in the workshop, Roberto enjoys cooking, especially all of the Mexican classics!

Roberto

2nd Hand Laster, El Paso

Richard was born in the esteemed shoe making city of Leon Guanajuato, Mexico. Over twenty years ago, he moved his family to El Paso to start his own shoe making business. He’s a master leather tooler and one of the first to join our team in El Paso. As General Manager, Richard will be the expert navigator of the Sabah Workshop!