Project overview
Oliver Moore Bootmakers is a bespoke footwear workshop in New York City with decades of experience crafting custom leather shoes and boots. While passing by their workshop, we became curious about their services and visited their website. What we found was a business with a remarkable reputation and history being represented by a website that no longer reflected either.
The existing website had remained largely unchanged for years. While the quality of the craftsmanship inside the workshop remained exceptional, the online experience felt outdated and difficult to navigate. The disconnect between the quality of the business and the quality of its digital presence created an opportunity to better showcase the company's heritage, expertise, and services.
Initial evaluation
Before approaching the team, we spent time reviewing the website and identifying areas that could be improved.
Several issues immediately stood out:
- Low resolution logo and imagery
- Outdated website layout
- Poor text readability
- Inconsistent visual styling
- Broken video functionality
- Broken links throughout the website
The website did not communicate the level of craftsmanship, attention to detail, or history that customers experienced when visiting the workshop in person.
Discovery
After visiting the workshop, we met with business partners Paul Moorefield and Joan Silverman. What began as a conversation about their website quickly turned into a deeper discussion about the business itself, its history, and the clients it serves.
It was immediately clear how passionate they were about their craft. They shared stories about the workshop, the shoemaking process, and the relationships they had built with customers over the years. Together, we explored how a redesigned website could better communicate the reputation they had spent decades building.
Understanding the customer
One of the most valuable parts of the discovery process was understanding why clients came to Oliver Moore Bootmakers.
Their customers ranged from younger professionals looking for exceptional handcrafted footwear to older clients seeking relief from physical foot conditions that could not be adequately addressed by mass produced shoes. Every pair was created specifically for the individual client, making the experience highly personal.
Referrals remained the company's primary source of new business. Satisfied customers consistently recommended the workshop to friends, family, and colleagues, helping sustain the business through decades of operation.
At the same time, consumer behavior was changing. As ecommerce continued reshaping retail, many nearby brick and mortar businesses were disappearing. Paul and Joan recognized the importance of ensuring their services, expertise, and reputation could be clearly understood online.
Website strategy
Because the workshop already had a strong reputation, the goal was not to reinvent the business. Instead, the website needed to tell the story that existing customers already understood.
Several priorities emerged during the planning process:
- Showcase a television feature from Martha Stewart Living
- Highlight media coverage accumulated over the years
- Create a gallery featuring their finest work
- Connect visitors to their Instagram presence
- Better communicate their services and heritage
These objectives became the foundation of the redesign.
Building the visual foundation
The existing website required far more than a visual refresh. Much of the supporting brand and website material either did not exist or needed to be recreated.
To prepare for the redesign, we assembled a new set of assets that included:
- A refined color palette
- A restored high resolution logo
- Professional photography
- Historical media coverage
- Updated business information and contact details
This process ensured the new website would have the supporting materials necessary to properly represent the business.
Logo restoration
One of the first issues we identified was the company logo. The version being used online was heavily pixelated and unsuitable for modern screens.
Since the original design files no longer existed, we recreated the logo from scratch. This involved researching the original typography, rebuilding the artwork, and carefully restoring the decorative elements that helped define the brand.
The objective was not to redesign the logo, but to preserve it. The final result maintained the character of the original mark while giving the company a high resolution asset that could be used across both digital and print applications.
Photography
Photography became one of the most important parts of the project.
Working alongside photographer Petro Onysko, we organized a photoshoot focused on both the products and the craftsmanship behind them. The goal was to capture not only the finished footwear, but also the process and people responsible for creating it.
The resulting images showcased custom shoe collections, workshop details, and Paul at work creating bespoke footwear for clients. These photographs became a central part of the website and helped communicate the quality of the workshop in a way words alone could not.
Launch
After approximately one month of design, photography, content organization, and development, the new website was ready to launch.
The final website delivered a cleaner and more modern presentation while remaining true to the heritage of the company. Media coverage, craftsmanship, photography, and customer work all received the attention they deserved, creating a digital experience that better reflected the workshop itself.
Because Paul and Joan did not need to regularly update content, we also avoided placing them on a platform that required additional monthly software costs. Instead, the website was developed as a custom coded solution using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, giving them a straightforward website without the ongoing expense of a website builder platform.
Most importantly, the new website finally aligned the online experience with the quality, craftsmanship, and reputation that Oliver Moore Bootmakers had spent decades earning.
