Freeds was started in 1929 by a craftsman (and his wife) who had previously worked at Gamba. Sadly they have passed away and it is now part of a large Japanese Corporation. It has a history of long service, workers tend to retire rather then leave and until the Japanese took over there was no official retirement age.

The pointe shoe factory used to be based in Covent Garden but was relocated to its present home at Well Street, East London.

The men who produce the shoes are called makers and each has his own symbol which is stamped on the shoe. My maker is Sid and he has worked there for 23 years. A dancer has her own maker, who she will discover by trial and error. When she is happy with a particular shoe, she uses that maker for the rest of her career or until he retires whichever comes sooner. In fact, when a maker is due to retire his customers are informed about a year in advance. (I am informed that my maker has at least another 15 years in him-by which time I will be drawing my pension). Famous dancers such as Carla Fracci and Vivianna Durante have acknowledged their makers by visiting the factory.

A Freed maker (not Sid!) making a pair of shoes. Note all the shoes covered in cloth to keep them moist.

The shoes are made inside out,the hard block is actually paper,hessian and cotton lining stuck together with glue. The shoes are hardened in the oven overnight at 70 degrees - which is high enough to harden the block but not melt the satin. Each man makes about 50 shoes a day and most of the orders are for individual dancers who order 20 pairs a time. What is most striking is the speed at which the men work, they are paid piece work rates and the manual dexterity involved.

Shoes although they look the same come in infinite variations, this is best illustrated by way of example and set out below are the measurements of a former ENB dancer:

Size 5½	Length of the shoe
Width XXX	xxx means very wide. Freeds make in 5 widths
Maker Squiggle	The mark of the maker of the shoe
Wing Block	Block to be extended by use of glue up the side The block can be made or hammered into a various shapes.
Shank	Shank is the insole which provides support and can be made of card or leather
2.5 card New pattern cut 1½	2.5 indicates the thickness. Cut 1½ denotes that the heel is cut away since it makes the foot look better on point
Vamp 4	Vamp is the shape at the front. The number is the measurement in inches
Side 2	This is the measurement in inches
Back 3¼	This is the measurement in inches. This is a particularly high back and is a specially made satin upper.
Drawstring elastic	The drawstring can be either thread or elastic

The quality control is superb. Each shoe is marked precisely for cutting and each process is closely monitored. Cleaning of the shoes for minute marks (Washing up liquid is used) ensures that every shoe is in pristine condition as it leaves the factory.

Freeds supplies all the major ballet companies and they have teams of people who travel the globe measuring dancers. Dancers from different countries have known preferences, eg French dancers use 2 widths and US dancers have elastic drawstrings. Margot Fonteyn used to have a special silk/satin mix for her upper and only a thin leather insole-which to-days dancers would be challenged to dance in.


My thanks to Pat Cornelius, General Manager of Freeds and Pru McBeath of English National Ballet.