Mallorca craftsmanship the key as former Camper executive launches own shoe brand
29/04/2013
Owner, Pedro Monge, was an executive at one of Mallorca’s most famous footwear brands, Camper, for seven years until 2010, developing a high level of knowledge of, and deep love for, leather and footwear. He left to do a business management course at university in Madrid and returned to Mallorca immediately afterwards to launch a brand of his own, Monge.
Concentrating almost exclusively on men’s shoes, he comes up with his own designs and commissions traditional artisan footwear makers in other parts of the island to make the products to his specification. It’s a very local form of outsourcing.
His styles are “classic with a twist”, most obviously in the colours he uses, leading to shoes such as traditionally shaped brogues in pale pink or quince yellow leather.
Monge shoes have been available online for a year or so, but the designer waited until April 2013 before opening his own showroom, picking a somewhat down-at-heel address in Mallorca’s capital, the Plaça del Banc de l’Oli, so-named because in medieval times it was where olive-growers came to measure out and sell their oil.
“I’ve always liked this square,” Mr Monge recently told local media. “I know it has a bit of a bad reputation but I have a feeling it will soon become very fashionable. I’ve liked since I first set eyes on it, when I first came to Mallorca all those years ago.”
Pedro Monge is originally from Castile, but insists Mallorca is the only place for him to work because of the high level of artisan footwear manufacturing skills available to him on the island, in places such as Inca. “My task is to find these skilled artisans and give them new life,” he says. “Mallorca has amazing artisans, and a lot of them are still going strong. It’s a set-up that allows me to offer an original product with real craftsmanship built in.”
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