Legacy of the Sole : Franciscan Continues Art of Handcrafting Sandals

There’s no need to sell Brother Sebastian Tobin on the health and style benefits of sandals.

The 56-year-old Franciscan spends his days at a workbench in New York City’s St. Francis of Assisi Parish, where he handcrafts leather sandals for church and lay customers.

“I don’t know how many pairs I make a year,” Tobin said. “All I know is that I’m about six months behind on orders. There are only a handful of people who do what I do.”

Tobin predicts that sales at shoe companies such as Deckers Outdoor Corp., Nike and others will boom as manufacturers try to sell consumers on the benefits of performance-oriented sandals.

“That’s what the industry is pushing,” Tobin said. “They’ve been making a lot of money on sneakers, and now they want to make a lot of money on sandals.”

Unlike the big companies’ designs, Tobin’s are custom-made. He starts with precise measurements and an outline of each customer’s foot. He also customizes sandals for customers with hammertoes or bunions.

Handcrafted leather shoes are expensive--Tobin’s sandals start at $75 a pair--but “they’re also going to last for quite a few summers,” he said. “Some of our guys who wear them (year-round) find they last for 20 to 25 years . . . with just having them resoled and re-heeled.”

Tobin, who reads shoe industry magazines and attends an occasional trade show, sees signs that sandals are coming on strong. “Wait and see,” he said. “They’ll be in all the stores.”

But don’t expect Tobin to sport a pair of Deckers’ new Teva Terradactyl sport sandals. “I don’t think it would be right,” he said, “if I was wearing theirs while trying to sell mine.”