I received a free pair of shoes from Beckett Simonon a while back, and was impressed by their quality for the price. I still wear and am still impressed by those shoes—they’re the most comfortable pair I own; I wore them for a full day of photography, running around Florence at Pitti in January, and was never hurting for it.
I’m not totally plugged into their world (though I do receive affiliate commission from them for purchases made through my links), so I didn’t quite understand their business’s setup. But with the COVID19 crisis, I’ve been exposed to their business practices a lot more, and am quite impressed. Namely, this tidbit I just learned from their regular customer emails:
As parts of the US start to reopen, we hope that you are staying safe and healthy.
It’s been a long and tiring road, with no clear end in sight. But we can all continue to fight this thing together and to live our lives as fully as possible.
Our workshop in Bogotá, Colombia has been closed since March 19, following the government’s lockdown order. During this time, we have been able to retain all of the artisans with their full salaries, contracts and benefits. Something we wouldn’t have been able to do without the continued support of our customers, which we will be forever grateful for.
The Colombian government is slowly reopening the country, and our workshop has been authorized to resume operations next Monday.
It wasn’t an easy process, involving a lot of paperwork and demonstration of our safety protocols, and explanation of how the artisans will get to and from the workshop. After inspection, we were awarded the permit – which isn’t the case for everyone.
This means our artisans can get back to work and to doing what they love – handcrafting high-quality leather goods for you. To ensure the safety and well-being of our team we’ve implemented strict guidelines:
- Single parents will remain at home, with their children (schools are closed), as will older workers. They will continue to receive full pay and benefits without fear of being laid-off or furloughed.
- The workers who will return at this time have been selected based on their younger age and how close they live to the workshop. That accounts for about 40% of the staff.
- Only the artisans who can commute by walking or cycling will go back to work.
- They will enter the workshop individually at different times and work staggered shifts.
- Everyone will change their clothes and shoes immediately upon entering the workshop.
- They will wash their hands frequently, use antibacterial gel, and wear company provided masks and face shields.
- There is plenty of space between workstations to maintain distancing.
Our accessories workshop will also be up and running on Monday. This means that the creation of bags and belts will resume. In celebration of this milestone, we would like to offer you something special… [it goes on to promote their belts]
Prior to that, in the month of April, they donated a portion of their proceeds to Feeding America to help those here in the States.
I’m posting about it simply because it was a pleasant surprise to me. Much like Nisolo, a Nashville footwear company that has a similar setup with skilled makers in Latin America, whom they work to support directly to improve their community and lot in life, Beckett Simonon’s priorities and values are worth applauding.
They’re sending me a free pair of suede Chelsea boots, which I will write a review of, at some point in the near future (I have no idea when). Until then, my recommendation for their dress shoes stands, with renewed appreciation for their business practices.
(Help support this site! If you buy stuff through my links, your clicks and purchases earn me a commission from many of the retailers I feature, and it helps me sustain this site—as well as my menswear habit ;-) Thanks!)
