Thank you for all the love you've shown us during our first month back - we've felt every bit of it!
We couldn't have got this far without the support of The Amazing Mr Wu: owner of the factory where Irregular Choice shoes were made for the last 25 years. After having to close his business in late 2025, Mr Wu agreed to set up a brand-new smaller factory space in early 2026, so we could begin creating new Irregular Choice designs again.
Work began as Mr Wu tracked down and bought back some of the original specialist machinery needed to create the intricate designs that Irregular Choice is famous for. Soon after this, he found a small factory space that was the perfect spot to re-start the business; then most importantly re-employed key members of his old team who had the extensive experience and talent that were essential to creating our wonderful products!
Now the machines were in, the lights were on, and the production line had finally taken shape. Seeing the space transform from empty shell to working factory has been pretty special. It was all feeling very real again!
At this point, the team in charge of sourcing and development also started looking at materials and processes, to see which styles we could get into production quickly. The skilled makers started coming back to work, and a small amount of production started soon after that - allowing us to relaunch with the Alice's Adventures In Wonderland collection!
Here at IC we're focussing on keeping our factory active all year round by driving innovation. We will be continuously designing enabling them to tackle new technical challenges whilst crafting new pieces. This is certainly not a mass production setup! We're committed to focussing on limited-pair production runs, and depending on how complex our styles are, we may create as few as 50 pairs per day.
This new chapter is all about doing what we do best:
- Creative, joyful design
- Small, thoughtful collections
- Obsessive attention to detail
Basically; making pieces that feel special, not mass-produced.
Let's take you through the process each Irregular Choice pair goes through in Mr Wu's new factory...
They may look similar to normal sewing machines, but these powerful production-grade stitching machines require a skilled hand with years of experience to operate. This is especially true for the very intricate detailing that Irregular Choice designs demand!
A last is a 3D foot-shaped mould that serves as the foundation for manufacturing shoes. Each style and size has a set of graded lasts that the uppers and outsoles are moulded to as the style is pieced together, which helps create the shape and form of the finished product. Traditionally shoe-making lasts were hand-carved from wood, but nowadays they are usually made from engineered plastic. Each style we make may have a different heel height and/or toe shape, so we have a huge selection of lasts in many shapes and sizes that demands a similarly huge, and well-organized, storage area!
Each last shape has its own 4 digit code, which you will find hidden in the SKU or product code on the end of each Irregular Choice shoe box!
For example, 4135 is one of our most popular lasts, and many of our Iconic styles use this Iconic IC shape. If you check the product code on a Nick Of Time box for example, you'll see it begins with 4135. The second part of the code after the dash gives the upper pattern - be it embroidered, strappy, ankle boot, covered in bows, or a simple court shoe. The final letter part of the SKU denotes the colourway and fabric choice of that particular style. You'll find that all Irregular Choice styles that start with the same four digits will all fit you in a very similar way!
The lasting machine is the hardest working piece of equipment in the factory. Operated by one single skilled lasting operative, the lasting machine pulls, pinches and presses the pre-stitched upper over the last mould using high pressure. Each shoe is 'lasted' one by one, and on average we can last about 30 pairs of shoes a day, depending on the complexity of the style being made.
After the lasting process, the underneath of the lasted uppers are prepared with cement (glue) ready to have the soles attached. They then pass through a heated chamber to activate the glue.
The soles are attached and positioned one by one using traditional hand tools. Then the pressing machine firmly presses the heels and soles to the lasted uppers ensuring a very firm bond is achieved.
Every pair has a final check by hand, and at this stage any ribbons or shoe laces are added, and any special trims that require skilled hand-stitching is completed.
Each finished pair is individually packaged by hand into our branded boxes, before being placed into cartons for delivery to the warehouse. The whole process from start to finish is very time-consuming, requiring a huge amount of attention to detail from each staff member at every stage of the process. Each new pair is a testament to the involvement of many skilled hands with years of experience!
In our next blog update we will give you another peek behind the scenes of the factory in action, and introduce you to some of the skilled craftspeople who make the shoes.