WIN Hand-Tooled Leather Chukkas for Father's Day!

WIN Hand-Tooled Leather Chukkas for Father's Day!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Elke from Blodgett, Oregon! She was randomly selected as the grand prize winner of this contest. Be sure you're subscribed to our email newsletter and following us on Instagram to learn about future giveaways!

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Amazing things happen when talented makers team up, especially when those makers hail from small American companies with a passion for fine leather goods. This Father’s Day, Oregon’s Soft Star Shoes has joined forces with Minnesota’s Jameson Leatherworks to create the ultimate drool-worthy gift for Dad: a special-edition “Papa Nature” Chukka Boot. Code named #ProjectRadDad, this shoe takes Soft Star’s classic handcrafted Hawthorne Chukka style and ups the ante with Jameson Leatherwork’s amazing Pacific Northwest-inspired artwork. One lucky winner will receive a custom-made pair in their size, announced just in time for Father’s Day!

The contest will run from Thursday, June 9th through Tuesday, June 14th and will be hosted through Soft Star's Instagram Profile, @SoftStarShoes. An active Instagram account is needed to enter.

TO ENTER:

  • Follow us (@SoftStarShoes) on Instagram
  • Follow @JamesonLeatherworks on Instagram
  • "Like" at least one of the contest posts (on either Instagram account)
  • Tag a friend in one of the contest posts (on either Instagram account)

Behind the Scenes:

While the product itself speaks to the skill of the collaborators, the process of creating these amazing chukkas might be an even greater testament to their makers’ ingenuity. Soft Star’s Production and Design Lead, Keita Beard, and Kyle Jameson (of his eponymous Leatherworks company) faced substantial obstacles in bringing their vision to fruition.

First of all, the leather variety normally used for the Hawthorne style was too pliable for proper leather tooling, while the type most favored for Jameson projects was a bit too stiff to create a shoe with Soft Star’s trademark flexibility. The makers settled on a vegetable-tanned leather with a consistency that struck a balance between the two criteria.

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Kyle Jameson plants a forest on a vegetable-tanned leather upper.

The greatest challenge concerned a critical element in the shoe construction process: water. Normally, a Hawthorne Chukka is cut-out, sewn together, and then dipped into a vat of hot water with a shoe form inserted inside; the shoe is later removed and allowed to dry on the mold, leaving it with its classic chukka shape. However, for this project, this sequence posed several problems for Kyle Jameson. For one, since tooling usually happens on a flat piece of leather, working on a 3-dimensional, fully-assembled shoe would be difficult. However, if Jameson were to tool and dye the newly cut leather before assembly, the design would be softened and warped by the shoe-shaping hot water bath later in the process. Undeterred, Keita and Kyle decided to bring a third collaborator into the project: the U.S. Postal Service.

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Tooled and dyed shoe bodies from Minnesota in need of their Oregon soles.

The final process went like this: first, Keita sourced the chosen leather and shaped it into a completed pair of chukkas, subjecting the shoes to the same spa treatment received by all Hawthornes. Then, Keita deconstructed the shoes, removing the soles and undoing a saddle seam so that the uppers could be laid out, leaving their side panels relatively flat while maintaining the round toe molded during the water bath. These “flat” uppers were then mailed to Moorhead, Minnesota, where Kyle worked his magic.

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The deconstructed is ready to be reconstructed in the Soft Star workshop.

After impressing the side panels with a stunning Pacific Northwest forest scene of mountains, streams, and evergreens, Kyle strategically dyed the design to add further depth and give the shoes a rich, striated mahogany finish. Finally, Kyle shipped the tooled leather pieces back to Soft Star, where Keita reassembled them into the fantastic finished product.

Papa-Nature-Chukka-Collage

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66 Comments

  1. Shawn Stoll
    Excited to hear the news of this partnership! Way to go!!
    Reply
  2. Stephanie Glass
    Stephanie Glass
    My husband is a hard working, and loving husband and father! He would love these!
    Reply
  3. Katrina Head
    Soft star chukka , a great way to show my dad some love this Fathers day. This is a gift he will never guess before opening!!
    Reply
  4. Marcella Pope
    Wow! These are so cool! My husband would love these! We just moved to rural Idaho...these would fit right in!
    Reply
  5. Jeremy Smith
    Yes please!
    Reply
  6. Karoliina
    Is the contest open for Canadian residents?
    Reply
  7. Elf Martin
    Hi Karoliina. Yes, Canadian residents can enter, too!
    Reply
  8. Kahtryn Mackey
    Kahtryn Mackey
    I think my dad would love these
    Reply
  9. Temberley Rinker
    Temberley Rinker
    The detail on these are incredible. What an awesome gift to surprise my husband with on Fathers Day!
    Reply
  10. André
    great pair of shoes to win
    Reply
  11. Janna
    My husband would love these.
    Reply
  12. Pierre Brandelius
    Pierre Brandelius
    Is this where I win the chukkas ?
    Reply
  13. Elf Martin
    Hi Pierre. You'll need to enter via Instagram:
    1. Follow us (@SoftStarShoes) on Instagram
    2. Follow @JamesonLeatherworks on Instagram
    3. "Like" at least one of the contest posts (on either Instagram account)
    4. Tag a friend in one of the contest posts (on either Instagram account)
    You will need an active Instagram account to enter.
    Reply
  14. Stephanie Falcone
    Stephanie Falcone
    These shoes look amazing! Well done. My husband would love them.
    Reply
  15. Jamie
    top notch cobbling
    Reply
  16. Raymond Langer
    Raymond Langer
    When two great companies come together, great things are bound to happen! Thanks for a great Father's Day promotion.
    Reply
  17. lauren
    wow, these are so special! seriously handsome footwear.
    Reply
  18. brittany stevens
    brittany stevens
    Best is great awesome like my pops is more like it.
    Reply
  19. Roz Donovan
    These are beautiful shoes!
    Reply
  20. Sarah
    So, does this mean one cannot enter the giveaway if one does not Instagram?
    Reply
  21. Elf Martin
    HI Sarah. Yes, this giveaway is exclusive to Instagram.
    Reply
  22. diana shenderovich
    diana shenderovich
    i wish to win for my husband
    Reply
  23. Jane Schroeder
    Jane Schroeder
    My husband is a one of a kind dad and husband, just lIke these shoes! Hope he wins!
    Reply
  24. arline lamprich
    arline lamprich
    my husband would look great in these
    Reply
  25. Olga
    Awesome shoes. Would love to enter for my dad, but i'm not on social media or instagram sites, so have no way here
    :(
    Reply
  26. Timothy Rignell
    Timothy Rignell
    My Dad is my hero, hope he wins!
    Reply
  27. Rebecca
    These are incredible! Would be overjoyed to share with our papa!!
    Reply
  28. RebaR
    Such great unique shoes! My hubby is a recent convert to minimal footwear and would love these!
    Reply
  29. Tami
    OH MY!!! Amazing!!~~My wonderful and amazing nature lovin' husband and AMAZING Papa to our beautiful children would love,love,love these wonderfully made shoes! He would be so delighted to have and wear these!;) Thank you!!
    Reply
  30. Kerstin
    Those are awesome looking shoes -what a neat idea! Thanks for doing this.
    Reply
  31. Mark L.
    Great looking shoes for a great Dad. Happy Fathers Day, man!
    Reply
  32. Tara
    Wow, these are beautiful! Thanks for the opportunity!
    Reply
  33. Marty lotspeich
    Marty lotspeich
    My dad actually passed away a month ago, but my brother is an expecting father and he'd love these.
    Reply
  34. Elf Martin
    Sorry for your loss, Marty :(
    Reply
  35. alexandra
    Great shoes. Happy Fathers Day!
    Reply
  36. Dan Kosek
    I would love to have a chance to win, but I don't do instagram or Facebook ... How do I get a fair chance to win???
    Reply
    1. Elf Martin
      Sorry Dan, but this contest is an exclusive offer for our Instagram followers. Please follow us in the future for contests that offer other ways to enter.
      Reply
  37. Rajee Pandi
    Done as rajeespot Great gift for Farther's Day thanks
    Reply
  38. Stephanie Phelps
    Stephanie Phelps
    These are some awesome shoes
    Reply
  39. Sondra
    Wow these are beautiful. My grandfather had shoes like these that he handed down to my husband before he died (minus the leather detailing). It would be awesome to have a pair for him.
    Reply
  40. Wanda Tracey
    Wow! What an awesome collaberation!! I know Dad would wear these gorgeous Softstar shoes with great pride! Thank you for this contest and chance.I have entered with all fingers crossed on IG as cottagebunny.
    Reply
  41. Julie Smolarek
    Julie Smolarek
    What size are they?
    Reply
    1. Elf Martin
      Hi Julie. We made a prototype test pair for the photo, and to make sure we knew there wouldn't be any problems with the process, but we'll size the winner and make a custom pair for his feet.
      Reply
  42. Susan
    My husband is a hot sexy combat vet who loves service and his family. I would love to give these to him.
    Reply
  43. Anneliese
    Your products are amazing and its a very generous offer! I'm not on istagram .... Maybe the next giveaway could use a different platform? Thanks!
    Reply
  44. Marian Sanphy
    So Cool!!
    Reply
  45. Bai Zhu
    Wow these look amazing.
    Reply
  46. R.C. Liley
    Followed instructions and tagged my wife for this awesome giveaway. Hopefully that was subtle enough as a hint.
    Reply
  47. Laurie
    Beautiful craftsmanship! A grand gift to be treasured.
    Reply
  48. Al
    You've made it a little hard to enter. The fourth requirement is a chicken and egg thing. I'd delete that one.
    Reply
  49. Melinda Berlin
    Melinda Berlin
    These are gorgeous & a true art form.
    Reply
  50. sheri Padilla
    I know a dad who would so much appreciate these!!!!!!
    Reply

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