The Story of Naang Boots
A Meeting of Creative Minds
Naang Boots was created by Allan Donnalaldson a Scottish shoemaker with over 20 years of experience making handmade shoes to the highest and most exacting standards and dana blouin a former engineer turned documentary filmmaker who has lived his life in boots.
Naang is a Thai word (หนัง) that means leather, the materials at the foundation of our boots, the very material that Allan has spent his life hand-crafting. However, in Thai the same word is used as shorthand for cinema, making it the perfect word to represent a brand founded by a shoemaker and filmmaker living in Bangkok, Thailand.
While Allan has spent much of his life around shoes, dana has spent the majority of his life wearing boots. From growing up in the northeast of the US and dealing with the long, cold, snow-filled winters, to hiking, camping, and mountaineering being one of his main hobbies for most of his life, and riding motorcycles being the other. For most of his adult life his work as a telecommunications engineer required him to wear boots on a daily basis as he climbed ladders, poles, and towers as part of his past job. As a filmmaker, the places dana has travled to and filmed in would not be possible without a solid pair of boots on his feet.
The Naang Design Principles
Naang Boots was created by Allan Donnalaldson a British shoemaker with over 20 years of experience making handmade shoes to the highest and most exacting standards and dana blouin a former engineer turned documentary filmmaker who has lived his life in boots.
Naang is a Thai word (หนัง) that means leather, the materials at the foundation of our boots, the very material that Allan has spent his life hand-crafting. However, in Thai the same word is used as shorthand for cinema, making it the perfect word to represent a brand founded by a shoemaker and filmmaker living in Bangkok, Thailand.
While Allan has spent much of his life around shoes, dana has spent the majority of his life wearing boots. From growing up in the northeast of the US and dealing with the long, cold, snow-filled winters, to hiking, camping, and mountaineering being one of his main hobbies for most of his life, and riding motorcycles being the other. For most of his adult life his work as a telecommunications engineer required him to wear boots on a daily basis as he climbed ladders, poles, and towers as part of his past job. As a filmmaker, the places dana has travled to and filmed in would not be possible without a solid pair of boots on his feet.
What Sets Naang Boots Apart?
Each pair of Naang Boots is hand-welted. Unlike a Goodyear welt, where a canvas rib is cemented to the insole so the welt can be stitched to it with a Goodyear welt machine, each pair of Naang Boots has a channel hand-carved into the insole so the welt can be sewn directly to the insole by hand.
Speaking of welts, All Nang Boots are constructed with a 360-degree storm welt. The 360-degree storm welt adds a symmetry to the overall boot design, and the storm welt offers a bit more protection from the elements than a flat welt would.
All Naang Boots make use of a veg-tanned leather shank to offer the right balance of stability and flexibility for your foot. The allows for far more natural foot movement, while still providing enough support for daily wear.
While many boots will fill the cavity between the insole and midsole with cork. This material conforms to the foot quickly, but over time it will break down and can shift between the insole and midsole, and become uncomfortable. At Naang Boots, we fill that cavity with leather instead of cork. Leather will conform to your foot over time, just like cork, but will take a bit longer and won't break apart like cork. Once you have broken in a pair of Naang Boots, they will stay conformed to your feet for as long as you have them.
Walk With Us!
