Tarnsjo Garveri Vegetable Tanned Horsehide
Taken on March 3, 2024
Raland Bootmaker
Engineer Boot
Bockara Last
US Men's Brannock: 8.5E
Bockara Last: 8EE
MTM order with custom last to accommodate my bunionettes
Sweden
Raland Boot is a relatively new brand then but from the few pictures from the IG page I attracted to the rustic yet classy styles. Adam is pretty much a one-man show and reminds me of the humble beginnings with the likes of Brian (Role Club) and Peng (Flamepanda). He makes boots purely out of leisure and passion and I can connect to that - having made one very amateur attempt myself and we clicked from the beginning. Placed my faith (and deposit) in him and it turns out much better than expected. This happens also to be my first pair made in Sweden with leather sourced locally from the famed Tarnsjo tannery so thats extra special.
Made to measure with multiple adjustments and fine-tuning. Adam spares no efforts to lock in the sizing and that shows his commitment to his work - even had a friend try on the initial sample to make sure the passthrough area (especially for Engineers) works for me. I am genuinely impressed at such close attention and truly sets the bar for bespoke cordwaining.
Very pleasant experience and accommodating to work with. I am difficult to size as I have skinny feet, low volume, but wide ball width due to bunionettes from military conscription days. Adam makes extra effort to retain the silhouette he thinks looks best and I appreciate that.