With this prophecy of my grandfather I was born on the island of Föhr in 1959. The step into this handicraft I only made after I had graduated from Secondary school and did community service but then with all consequences:
At that time it was quite unusual to be trained as a custom shoemaker. However, I was incredibly lucky to come across the last member of his guild, a true master of this profession in Germany. Especially because Harai, who was born in Hungary, had enormously high demands on his trainees. This signified to thoroughly learn the basics and sophistications of Hungarian shoemaking and to finally master it.
After three years of apprenticeship, one year as a journeyman and a sturdy dispute with the old Harai, I decided to ask John Lobb for a job in London. It was like a dream come true: the great master advised me to immediately set up my workshop and start working as soon as possible.
