OK - in the tradition of over-sharing like I tend to do, here is an update on the state of getting the shoes to market: Long story short - looks like we may have shoes to sell by the end of April.
Covid hit us hard and set us back roughly a year. Total shut down in the first part of the year. Then a couple months where we could do some work, which was mainly a re-design of the plastic parts for better manufacturability. Then the factory owner got Covid. Then Italy all but shut down again, which is where we are currently at. But luckily, business can squeak on slowly. Which means we are making progress, but things that should normally take 3-4 weeks are taking 8-10 weeks. We have already done all of the size-grading and made all of the lasts. This is a bit tricky because we have to do it in such a way that we can make as few molds as possible, but still have the shoe fit really well in all sizes. Here are our whole-size lasts!
What do we still have to do? Here's the schedule (sorry, don't know why it's so small. I will explain below.
That first really long line is making the first set of plastic molds for a single size (44), which is the large part that goes around the heel & under the sole, the lever on the heel with a removeable cap for assembly, & the replaceable heel pad. Then you see the making the mold for the size 44 carbon sole, and procurement of all the hardware. The upper will be cut by hand. Then we will make 1 single pair of size 44 shoes using these molds to make sure everything works right. During this time we will also finalize the design of the insoles (for all sizes) so we can make the tooling for those - this is a very simple and fast process.
OK... so hopefully that all goes well and we will then spend the money to make all those molds for all the other sizes, which is the next really long bar on the schedule. That "size development" bar is primarily for the upper. We have already done the size development for the lasts, plastic parts and sole. Then, finally there is the size test, which is where they laser cut and hand cut uppers for all the sizes and make one pair in every size, to make sure the upper design is good before they make the cutting tooling for that (which can be done in only about a week). Then we are ready for production. Finally - I have another question for you guys. We are 5 months away from having shoes to sell - but I have a bunch of socks and hats sitting around. Would you guys be interested in buying these items as sort of pre-release anticipation/promotional items? Or should I wait for the shoes to be out?
The perspective in this photo makes the hat look a little funny - it's a BOCO technical trucker with a patch in the middle that has the logo on it.
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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
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