FIELD & FOUNDRY | MERCHANT 1948

Merchant 1948 Introduces Field & Foundry, a New Chapter in Heritage Bootmaking. 

Three generations of footwear craft come together in a boot built to be resoled, not replaced.

Merchant 1948 announces the launch of new range Field & Foundry, a new heritage boot label built on traditional Goodyear welt construction and designed to last decades, not seasons. The range is available online now and in selected Merchant 1948 stores.

Field & Foundry draws on Merchant 1948's roots as a family footwear business, which began with an immigrant's shoe store in small-town New Zealand in 1948 and was passed from grandfather to father to son. That same philosophy, that a boot built right will keep people coming back, sits at the centre of the new label.

"Footwear is in our blood. Three generations of it," Shane Anselmi, owner of Overland Group said of the launch. "Field & Foundry is where all of that lands."

Built with a 150-year-old technique

Most boots on the market today are cemented, with the upper glued to the sole in a process built for speed rather than longevity. Once the sole wears through, the boot is finished. Field & Foundry takes a different approach, using Goodyear welt construction, a technique in which a strip of leather, the welt, is stitched to both the upper and the sole. The result is a sealed, structural bond that can be taken apart and rebuilt rather than thrown away.

The method dates back roughly 150 years and involves more than 200 hand operations per pair. It is slower and more labour intensive than modern alternatives, but it is also the reason a Field & Foundry boot can outlast the person who bought it.

Each pair features:

• Goodyear welt construction for a durable, resoleable structure
• Full-grain leather uppers that soften and crease into a natural patina rather than cracking
• Antique brass hardware that darkens with age
• Genuine rubber outsoles engineered for years of wear
• Padded leather insoles and a cork footbed that moulds to the shape of the wearer's foot over time
• Puritan triple stitch construction for added strength
• Heritage-inspired silhouettes designed to stay in style well beyond a single season

A boot registered to its owner, for life

Every Field & Foundry boot carries a unique service number, embossed into the leather on the tongue of the right boot and registered to its owner at the time of purchase. Registration unlocks NZD $100 towards the wearer's first resole within four years of purchase. Rather than replacing a worn-out boot, owners can return their pair to a Merchant 1948 store to have it resoled and kept in wear for years to come.

Availability

Field & Foundry launches with a range of dress boots, including the Williams, Thompson, Mercer, Anderson and Reid styles, alongside accessories. The range is available now at merchant1948.co.nz and in selected Merchant 1948 stores across New Zealand.

About Merchant 1948

Merchant 1948 (formerly Overland) has been curating quality footwear for New Zealanders since 1948, spanning 78 years in the industry. The business is home to a portfolio of footwear brands, including Mi Piaci, Merchant 1948 and Deuce, sold across New Zealand and Australia.