Bespoke Shoemaker

ABOUT US

Civil Leather is an ecologically centred footwear and leather accessories manufacturer based in Hamilton Ontario Canada. Jonathan Van Sickle is the shoemaker behind the design and construction of every Civil Leather product. Our products are offered directly to our clients through our website. We also love collaborating with eco conscious brands and shops.

VALUES

Our relationship with nature is at the heart of what we do. We understand that nature is made of beautiful regenerative processes that feed into one another between the plants, animals and elements. It is our goal to create products that are derived from those regenerative processes and will return to those processes after our products have lived their lives. We have gone to great lengths to eliminate all synthetic materials and petroleum products from our goods. We are proud to offer all natural, 100% biodegradable footwear. We also simply delight in how the natural materials marry with one another to build our boots. If you are as serious about repairing humanity's broken relationship with nature as we are, we would love to make a pair of our boots just for you.

ORDERING BOOTS

We currently offer our boots with our bespoke fit shoemaking service. This means that your Civil Leather boots are custom built to fit your individual feet. We acquire your foot measurements by having you complete our easy to follow sizing guide. This can be done with simple tools from your own home. If you have never experienced bespoke fit shoes before just know that you are going to smile every time you slide your feet into your Civil Leather boots.

You can also have input on the design details. We will walk you through your choice of leathers, colours, toe caps, broguing and laces. Follow our Instagram page for design ideas and dream up your perfect pair. Many people simply choose an existing boot from our Instagram, this can be a straight forward route to a really classic pair of boots.

If you think our bespoke boots are for you then reach out to us with an email with any questions you may have. When you're ready, we ask for a 50% deposit and this gets your order place reserved in our production schedule. We then discuss the design details and receive your foot measurements. Full payment is received prior to your production date and then we get started building your boots. When they are complete (usually about 2 weeks) we ship them to your door, voila!

DURABILITY

We often get asked if our boots are less durable because of their biodegradability. The short answer is no. We are not the first shoemakers to build boots the way that we do. Our construction is much the same as the methods used by shoemakers before humanity's infatuation with petroleum based products. The materials and construction we use have been time tested by traditional European shoemakers for hundreds of years. What you are getting when you order our boots is the product of many generations of shoemaker's knowledge and skill that has been honed and refined for what works in terms of function and durability. Our boots are built with repairability in mind. The heels and soles can easily be replaced by your local cobbler or they can be shipped back to us for repair. We love seeing our boots come back to the shop for resoling.

COLLABORATIONS 

We've noticed that there a lot (A LOT) of eco conscious apparel brands and shops these days. We've also noticed that they often add on leather accessories to their product line. We love collaborating with brands and shops to provide them with leather accessories that fit with their eco conscious values. If you're interested, reach out with an email (info@civilleather.com), we'd love to hear from you.