We rarely have workshop participants as young as Esther and Hannes. Esther (20) and Hannes (23) are two undergraduate students from Berlin who not only took part in the sandal course but also joined a spontaneous leather belt workshop. In this interview, they tell us how it came about and why they see the courses as an investment in the future .
Sandalenwerkstatt: As I understand it, you first did the sandal workshop and then spontaneously decided to add a leather belt workshop. Why?
Esther: We saw on your website that Nori offers additional belt workshops alongside the sandal courses. Since we are fans of things that last, we simply asked Nori on Friday morning whether he could spontaneously organise a course on Saturday. We had only needed 4 of the planned 5 days for the sandals.
Hannes: We were genuinely unsure whether it could still be arranged. After all, we would have been the only participants taking up Nori's time at the weekend. It probably would not have been worth it for him. But we were lucky and managed to convince 2 women from our workshop to join us. Nori then spontaneously prepared a course for Saturday, which we thought was fantastic!
Esther: Absolutely. Considering how last-minute it all was, it was really straightforward.
Sandalenwerkstatt: How did you come up with the idea of attending a sandal workshop in the first place?
Esther: I really enjoy watching the series Handwerkskunst on SWR. The Sandalenwerkstatt episode was actually the first one I ever saw. I found it really pleasant to listen to Andreas speak and watch him work. The idea of making our own sandals only came to us after watching it for the third time, and with each viewing we became more convinced that the course would be a great idea.
Hannes: We wanted sandals that not only last a long time but are also perfectly fitted to our feet. And when you can actually take part in the production process, that is an experience you do not get every day.
Sandalenwerkstatt: Especially considering that the course can be on the pricier side for many young students.
Esther: We see it as an investment in the future. We sat down and calculated whether it would be worthwhile to invest in well-fitting, sturdy sandals or to fall back on cheaper alternatives. Those would of course not be as expensive as yours, but they only last 2 years at most. So we started saving for your workshop last year.
Hannes: The quality of the materials was definitely a deciding factor in our deliberations. The materials at the Sandalenwerkstatt are of very high quality and durability, which is of course more sustainable than constantly buying new sandals. On top of that, off-the-shelf sandals often do not fit properly. Since I have quite wide feet, that is a real problem for me. That is also why I chose the "Sahara" model instead of the "Mexico" — with the "Mexico" my feet would look even wider than they already are.
Sandalenwerkstatt: How did you feel during the workshops?
Hannes: I felt well looked after from start to finish. Although we carried out many steps ourselves, we could always ask for help. I had trouble with the lasting of the sandals, for example, and Nori supported me with that.
Esther: I can only agree with Hannes. The work was really enjoyable, and we felt we were in good hands.
Sandalenwerkstatt: You sound very enthusiastic. Would you recommend the courses at the Sandalenwerkstatt?
Hannes: We have actually already recommended the courses after a friend who studies in Freiburg loved our sandals. When he has more time, he wants to do the course as well.
Esther: Through that friend we actually ended up staying at the student residence on Lorettostrasse, where several people asked us about our sandals. We then raved not only about your wonderful sandal workshop but also about the leather belt course.
Hannes: We hope we will be wearing our belts and sandals for a long time to come.
