Harold Boot Company Choclate Grazier Cork Rubber Sole Chelsea Boots
1.2 mm Australian Yearling Calf one piece Leather upper & full Leather Lining. With an Oil Resistant Cork Rubber compound Sole & Heel. Poron Footbed for absolute comfort.
Features:
One Piece Australian Yearling Calf Leather upper dress Boot. With an Oil Resistant Cork Rubber compound Sole.
HAROLD BOOT COMPANY CHOCLATE GRAZIER CORK RUBBER SOLE CHELSEA BOOT
Harold Boot Company
The Harold Boot Company has been specialising in well made and dependable Australian made footwear for over 100 years. We choose the highest quality material and employ the finest craftsmen to produce a truly Australian boot to suit your needs. All our products are made with you in mind. Your needs are what direct us to produce a boot for every use and occasion. When you look for strong and durable well made boots the Harold Boot Company continues its History of putting all our experience into making them for you.
The Harold Boot Co can be traced back to the 1400's in Leicester shire England where Ian Harold's ancestors were bespoke boot makers.At the beginning of the 1700'S the family employed over 40 hand shoemakers making quality boots and shoes of the time. At the start of the industrial revolution the family started a very modern factory for its time. The factory prospered and the family business continued to grow.
In 1878 John Harold took over the running of the factory from his father Alexander. He had the first of 4 sons in 1882 (Frederick Harold). By the turn of the century the factory had survived the depression of the 1890's. It had been a hard struggle, but determination and reputation carried the business through. At this time the factory was having trouble getting raw material supplies of good quality leather for their production and they had noted that there were abundant supplies of leather being produced in Australia. In 1912 it was decided to send Frederick out to Australia to start a factory, making traditional footwear to send back to England for the family to market.The company thrived both with exports and local sales.
With the onset of the First World War the Australian operation went into war production mode, manufacturing footwear for the Australian military. They again went onto a War footing in the second world War producing combat boots again.When the first world war was over most of the contact with the mother factory in England was lost. Two of Frederick's brothers migrated to work with their brother in Australia and Harold's continued to expand making traditional footwear. This is when they produced their first one piece upper elastic sided boot. A copy of a Chelsea boot made in the old factory in England. (circa 1925) This tradition of quality products has carried through to the current day; being continued by Frederick's son Alexander and to this day by Ian Harold the grandson of Fredrick.
In 1982, Ken Watkin, whose family has a long history in the leather industry, approached Ian to make a range of specialty mountaineering walking boots, and in 1988, Ken and his wife Carol bought the business from Ian. (however Ian continued running the factory) Over the ensuing years, the company has consolidated its range further and the factory now specialises in producing traditional English and Australian country footwear and Horse sport riding boots.
Since this time Ken & Carol have expaned the factory to again be exporting product back to the UK, USA, and Europe.In 2008 after 90 years at the old Factory at Abbotsford the Harold Boot Company moved again to new premises at 170 Perry Street Fairfield. The production continued there until 2013 when order where out stripping supply, staff of 40 and 45 years where retiring and replacement staff impossible to find and train. Overhead and labour costs were also increasing making the product very expensive and export very difficult.
So in May 2013 the whole factory was packed up and moved to Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam. They did this as they were unable to to produce the volume and the high quality they required with their current staffing level and overhead costs.
This move was accomplished after a lot of logistical work to ensure that the high quality of raw materials was maintained. As a company Harold's is committed to only using the highest standard of raw materials and preferably Australian raw material. They are extremely pedantic about maintaining the quality of their raw materials and therefore still source most of their materials from their Australian suppliers.
This was the 6th move by the company since 1650.
It is with great sadness that we have to announce the passing of Ian Harold the Bootman(BOOTS). He is the last of his line of Boot makers.
However Ian Harold was until his sad passing still to that day in charge of the factory's production. He worked very hard to instill in our people the quality and tradition which we have come to expect from him. Because of his enthusiasm and our staff are proud to continuing this proud tradition and maintaining a firm commitment to quality, durability and style that he instilled in our people. Which is very rarely seen in today's market place.The quality of the products produced today mean's that Harold's have been able to guarantee their traditional range of footwear for life against any manufacturing fault. A remarkable achievement.