Factory trades

Assembly department

As we just learned from the shoe’s journey, a large number of employees is needed for a factory to function. While the majority of them work at the operational level, others are dedicated solely to administrative tasks.

Marcel Charron started out in trimming, “fittage”.  Here he is, telling us about his first steps at Lafayette Factory.

First steps at Lafayette (captions available in both FR and EN) – watch this video with the transcript (EN)

As you will have noted, Marcel Charron has an exceptional memory.  He is as clear about the names of every employee who worked with him as about the layout of the machines in the factory. Let’s follow him for a short, guided visit that will teach us more about the various stages of crafting a shoe.

Assembling a shoe (captions available in both FR and EN) – watch this video with the transcript (EN)

The next steps (captions available in both FR and EN) – watch this video with the transcript (EN)

Heel and finishing department (captions available in both FR and EN) – watch this video with the transcript (EN)

According to Marcel Charron, among the various trades within shoe manufacturing, that of tailor required the most experience and skill.  It was his father’s trade. He speaks of it with a great deal of emotion.

The tailor’s trade (captions available in both FR and EN) – watch this video with the transcript (EN)