New shoe brand, Timber Lee III, is not actually a new shoemaker but rather a rebranding of a solo artisan shoemaker (Hephaestus Shoemaker) who decided to take his brand to the next level in the hopes to scale it. That is always a wise move when one has grand aspirations and from the looks of these beauties that are created by this brand, one can only assume there are great things to come!
The owner, Thanh Le, is one of the rising Vietnamese shoemakers that has essentially grown from Facebook/Instagram and has built quite a name for himself on those platforms, showing some of the most intriguing shoes to date. Timber Lee has many specialties that make this brand quite appealing. There is a lot of skin-stitching that goes on. That is when you hand-stitch underneath the upper to create pieces of the pattern, like a cap, counter or facing piece. Another feature that he is known for is his patina’d exotics, as you can see in this post. A lot of suede exotics too, coupled with handstitched uppers that sit on the surface as pieces of the pattern but are really just wholecuts. That is another one of his specialties.
Lastly, Timber Lee does a great Norwegian stitch, often paired with sharp lasts that help balance the often heavy look. His shoes are always striking and I am always curious to see what he comes up with next. And even more appealing is the pricing. As is standard in that part of the world, the pricing is often under $1000 for what are at least hand-welted if not fully handmade shoes. I can only see Timber Lee III rising from here!
Learn more: https://timberleeiii.com/
I appreciate your fairness when it comes to evaluating shoes!! But, I still think the J.Fitzpatrick brand will continue to be my favorite go to brand.
Thank you Michael, I do very much appreciate that!