As many of you who frequently read my blog may know, the art of the patina is something that is appreciated and practiced, as a profession, by several people in France. One of those people, would be the magnificent Paulus Bolten, who is the owner of Patine & Glacage Souliers. So while I was in Paris, I figured that even though I love all of my shoes the way they are, I might as well utilize the service to see it transform my shoes, first hand. And so it did. In reality, I did not have a shoe on me (as I left all of the crummy one’s back in the States) that I wanted to change, so I bought these Edward Green’s made for Gieves & Hawkes shoes (old ones) from a friend of mine who had never worn them and was looking to get rid of them. Talk about a win-win situation: new shoes + Edward Green’s + 75 GBP + shoes for patina = amazing deal & timing! And thus you can see the transformation below….
It’s an amazing service that Paulus has created here, as it truly can give you a new pair of shoes. I had been dying for a nice pair of burgundy loafers and never see one that I like or that cost less than 700 GBP, so I was at a loss, until I came across Paulus and his service and he was able to make my shoes not only burgundy, but customized too, by keeping the strap the original color and giving the shoe a bit of character. Since the first time that I put up this service, I know that several of my readers have been to see him or have posted their shoes to him in order to utilize the service and from what I know have thoroughly enjoyed it (pics below). The service starts at about 70 euros and goes up from their depending on what you would like done. But, as Paulus is clearly magical with the patina, you can see that it is well worth it.
To contact him directly you can email him at [email protected]
Let me know if you do and send me pictures of the before and after so that I can put it up on the blog!
-Justin, “The Shoe Snob”
awesome patina you got there!
Do you know of any places that would do this in the states? As an added bonus would they also do it to leather bags?
Joker1404 – Thank you sir! Unfortunately I do not know anyone who does this in the States. I really don’t know anyone who does this outside of France to be honest. It’s an art there that has yet to spread worldwide. But I am sure that there will be people who come out of the woodwork to start doing this. You can always ship it to Paulus. I know that it makes the costs go up, but….it might be the only way.
-Justin, “The Shoe Snob”
Dear Justin, congratulations for this article!it is a topic that interests many shoe fans. Unfortunately -as you write- there are very few patina artists so far…this is why I’d like to tell you and the many readers of your blog, that in Italy Dandyshoecare is the specialist in Patina shoes, bags, and leather accessories. Please have a look at the pictures of some of my patine shoes on the blog page of my website http://www.dandyshoecare.it. Who wants to see more photos or to ask any info, please contact my email address: [email protected]
Best regards.
Alexander Nurulaeff
Alexander – Thanks for that. I wish that you had more pictures of your work though, it’s hard to find…You should have a dedicated section of your site to see your work, pictures with before and after’s of the shoes that you do.
-Justin, “The Shoe Snob”