Hemingway once said of writing, "You ought to be able to show that you can do it a good deal better than anyone else with the regular tools before you have a license to bring in your own improvements." It's a good principle to apply to any sort of creative endeavor: learn the rules, then break them. Yuki Matsuda, the man behind Yuketen shoes, knows the regular tools and traditions of shoemaking as well as anyone, and, well, he's bringing in his own improvements. The man can make a mean moccasin, and rather than being satisfied with a well-made shoe, he adds flourishes that marry craftsmanship with folk details and idiosyncratic design that might raise an eyebrow but certainly should inspire some smiles.
From his home base in Hermosa Beach on the California coast, Yuki and his team cast their nets over sand and surf, over the mountains that line horizons in Maine, over the city streets of New York, pull it all in and sew it into their footwear, bags, and accessories. They'll put a dress leather sole on a Native American-inspired ring boot, sew ghillie lacing to a boat shoe, add a crepe sole to a boot designed for Maine guides, and mix tones of leather, cordovan, suede, and (occasionally) crocodile. Yuki's also a rockabilly aficionado and uses hair-on-hide or punk rock brass studs on liven up a pair of loafers. Yuketen applies the same brew of playfulness and exacting quality to leather accessories, messenger bags, and backpacks.
The creative details are stitched into Yuketen's products by American craftsmen, and the way they see it, when you wear a Yuketen product you're putting your own finishing touches on the fruits of their labor. The creases and patina from hard wear serve as mementos of a life well-lived. That's another sentiment Hemingway would share.