Initially we wanted to produce our Closed collection in Germany to reduce transport. The Trippen design is, however, such that it requires traditional shoe-making techniques and rather antiquated machines. In a small village in northern Italy we still found this old-fashioned machinery and began production there in 1995. Today the whole village and other family businesses near Venice, Montebelluna and Civita Nova work for Trippen. Because of the nature of the shoes, the amount of handwork required, and our demand for quality within this handwork, our production requirements are best met by small factories. By now also our own factory in Zehdenick supports the Italian firms in producing the Closed.		Our shoes are not glued together, rather double-sewn. The leather uppers are first sewn to a middle sole and then to the rubber sole - this allows for the easy removal of the rubber sole for replacement and recycling. The machine used to sew the uppers to the soles requires a rim of 7mm, and thus all Trippen Closed have this buffer-like silhouette. Each pair comes with a removable cork insole, covered with vegetable-tanned calf leather, which can be exchanged for a thin version providing more space around the toes or other insoles. Simple uppers with sometimes unusual pattern lines made from high-quality materials complete the unique Trippen look.

01  Stitching the upper

02  Cutting leather boards

03  Pulling

04  Pressing the edges

05  1st stitch

06  Putting on the sole

07  2nd stitch

08  Removing from the last

09  Polishing

10  Shining

11  Putting in the insole

12  Folding the boxes