Hartmut Seidich and his son Dustin Seidich have been generationally “inculcated” in the craft, as the Seidich family has been making uppers since 1928. They both grew up with the “fragrance” of the rubber cement binding the leather fittings to the lasts and enjoy using the traditional handcraft methods, which still largely corresponds to those of their grandfathers’.
The Seidich upper workshop has long been an “insiders’ secret” for those in the industry who want uppers with an unusual design or are searching for a solution for difficult orthopedic fittings. Customers include orthopedic clinics as well as discerning bespoke shoemakers from many countries.
Hartmut Seidich learned the trade from his father and completed an apprenticeship as an orthopaedic shoemaker, passing his Master shoemaker examination in 1987. Since then he has been leading the family business where 5 – 7 pairs of uppers are made by hand every day. From 1987 until present, the Seidich family and their small team have made over 45,000 pairs of uppers. Their workshop is one of the few that has survived all the recent challenges to uppermakers, from the introduction of pre-made uppers, the BSE (mad cow disease) crisis to today’s “outsourcing” of upper orders to low-wage countries.
For twenty years, from 2004 to 2024, Hartmut Seidich along with his wife Tanja Seidich, also a trained uppermaker, have been teaching uppermakers since 2004. He is a lecturer in uppermaking at the Academy of Crafts in Düsseldorf, teaching the Master students of orthopaedic shoemaking technology.
Their son Dustin Seidich completed his apprenticeship as a shoemaker and uppermaker together with his brother-in-law Jan Droste and passed the Journeyman’s examination in 2014. While Jan Droste’s focus is on everything to do with leather and clicking, Dustin Seidich mainly designs upper patterns and creates his own designs.
From 2018 to 2024, Dustin Seidich has also been teaching upper design as a Lecturer at the Academy of Crafts in Düsseldorf, specialising in the areas of patternmaking and shoe design.
The work on the content took over eight years and was characterised by intensive research. The authors exchanged ideas with other uppermakers, shoe designers, bespoke shoemakers, orthopaedic shoemakers, educational institutions, doctors, tanners and other experts in six countries.
In this book, the authors are revealing a large part of their own specialist knowledge, alongside many tips from other experts.
The textbook ‘Uppermaking for Bespoke and Orthopaedic Shoemakers – Volume I’ is currently in use in over thirty countries around the world and is regarded by experts as the standard work on uppermaking.
The Seidich family also shares their expertise in lectures at home and abroad. They promote professional exchange within the craft and offer uppermaking courses in both German and English in their own specially adapted training workshop.
In 2023, the Central Association of German Shoemakers awarded Hartmut Seidich the golden ‘Medal of Merit for Outstanding Services to the Shoemaking Trade’, the highest award the association can bestow.
Contributions from helpful colleagues:
In individual chapters of the three volumes, other experts have made contributions or were involved in the preparation of the texts. This is indicated respectively by chapter.
Please note the acknowledgments at the end of the book!
For the first time, the craft of uppermaking is completely presented in these three volumes, which total approximately 600 pages, with hundreds of photos and graphics. Nevertheless, each of the three volumes is a standalone text and comprehensively covers its respective topics.
Translation from german into english
From the outset, it was the authors’ wish that the books should serve as a resource of technical knowledge not only for their German colleagues, but worldwide. Especially since digitisation threatens the loss of knowledge of traditional craftsmanship in the future.
Given the variety of rare technical terms and their regional variations which have become established in both German and English, translating these texts is a particularly challenging but deeply rewarding.
American Bootmaker Kevin Leahy , who sadly passed away in 2024, took on this challenge for Volume I. His translation gained worldwide recognition and Kevin left a valuable legacy for the shoemaking trade with his work, both on this translation and in his bootmaking.
Thank you, Kevin and rest in peace!
Payson Muller has taken on the translation of the Pattern Collection’s Booklet and is already working on the translation of Volume II. Payson is a passionate shoemaker from York in the United Kingdom. He is committed to promoting the exchange of information between shoemakers across borders and the continued transmission of the craft between generations.
Payson Muller was admitted as a Freeman to the Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers of the City of London in 2025 and is an Alumni of Bill Bird’s course and holds a Certificate in Bespoke Orthopaedic Shoemaking hosted by the Pattenmakers.