A MACHYNLLETH shoemaker says she is ‘still reeling’ from the amount of support the local community has given her following the opening of a new store.

Celebrated Shoemaker Ruth Emily Davey and her team opened a new bespoke shoemaking business, RED Shoes, on Heol Maengwyn in the town last month.

The new building is a newly renovated four-story Victorian town house in smart red and gold, complete with hanging sign above the door.

Amongst its many additions, it boasts an increased shop floor and fitting area to display the shoes themselves and has been described by clients as creating a warm and personal shoe buying experience unlike any other.

Ruth has spent all of 2022 renovating the Victorian building which has become an asset to the town, brightening up the high street and situated right next door to the new ‘Gwen’ Restaurant - second restaurant to open by Ynys Hir’s Gareth Ward.

With this new move she is hoping to help breathe new life into the high street.

Ruth is well known in the field of Heritage Crafts and bespoke shoemaking, her list of awards and commendations include the Balvenie Young Master of Craft Award 2011, the QEST scholarship 2013, and the Winston Churchill Traveling Fellowship 2016 which enabled her to travel to Japan and Mexico to understand the passing down of skills from Master to Apprentice.

Red Shoes
The new store on Heol Maengwyn (Heather Birnie )

RED shoes are all made by hand and feature a unique design with broad toe box, close fitting arch support, and no heel said to encourage the natural movement of the foot.

With additional workshops and office space, this expansion of the business will allow Ruth’s team to meet the demands from clients more readily following an increase in business since the covid pandemic.

The opening of the new business premises coincided with the relaunch of the website of The Original Shandals© Co. which is the sister company to RED specialising in making a handmade “off the peg” version of the bespoke shoes sold at RED.

The Shandals co. Was started as a collaboration between Ruth and her former Mentor, the late Alan James Raddon after they found their shoe designs were stolen and reproduced online by a factory in China.

The night itself included a champagne reception and “red carpet style” opening of the newly designed shop and continued later into the evening with music and dancing. Attendees comprised of friends, family, and clients from the local community.

Red Shoes
The new store opened last month (Heather Birnie )

Having apprenticed at the age of 18 under the late great shoemaker Alan James Raddon, whose clientele included Billy Connolly, Sir Alec Guinness, Diana Athill and Emma Thompson, Davey – Also a trained reflexologist – has upwards of twenty years of shoe making experience and has made shoes for the likes of Hollywood stars like Drew Barrymore. Clients from as far-flung places such as, Alaska, Australia and South America have come to her shop in Mid Wales to seek her expertise.

RED opened in Machynlleth in 2016 and The Original Shandals© Co. as a joint venture between Davey and Raddon in 2019. Her distinctive “foot shaped shoes” champions the long-term health of the clients’ feet above fashion trends.