Talent Tuesday is our new weekly feature where we introduce the people who make Zimmerman Shoes. Our manufacturer is our long-standing family business, the oldest children's shoe manufacturer in the country.
Today we're featuring Kirsten, who also happens to be our aunt! She's been at our factory for 17 years as a leather cutter, so she's the first part of the shoemaking process. She loves to make people laugh and is always cracking us up with one-liners or singing along to the radio. I know most of the words to most of the songs by ABBA and Queen because of her!
Kirsten's job entails evaluating the leather for quality and using dies to cut out each piece that goes into the shoe's construction. She cuts the uppers, and most of our styles have a leather lining that must be cut as well. All in all, there could be 12-16 pieces of leather per pair of shoes, and Kirsten cuts each one.
When you factor in all those pieces, and the fact that some leather has stretch and has to be cut on the bias, Kirsten's job can get tricky. BUT, she does it all with a joke and song, and that's what makes her great. Thanks, Kirsty!
