Bowhill & Elliott are shoemakers with a story. After all, they’re the only UK shoemakers to still make out back and sell out front. And all by hand. (You can find them on London Street.)
As a mainstay in Norwich’s independent scene (over 150 years, to be exact), Bowhill & Elliott’s ethos is to preserve time-honoured skills, champion considered purchases and honour the city’s heritage. They’re all about long-lasting craftsmanship. Each pair of slippers is chic yet practical, well-made, and totally unique. Next time you’re in the Lanes, admire the intricate embroidery and attention to detail.
Here, we speak to Bowhill & Elliott to find out more about their special history, how it all works and what’s in store for the future!
Make your slippers your own with personalised monograms, embroidery and more
Thank you! For us, what sets us apart is the combination of our manufacturing heritage alongside the retail arm of the business. The fact that our product is still handmade, from the embroidery to the lasting process, is rarely seen outside of bespoke shoemaking. We believe we’re the place to go for luxury slippers, made in England.
We started as a family business of shoemakers and now, over 150 years later, we strive to continue that craftsmanship, selling our own brand Bowhill & Elliott alongside English welted footwear brands such as Crockett & Jones and Cheaney & Sons.
We’ve been making one of our most popular styles, the Albert slipper, named after Prince Albert (who famously commissioned them to wear inside royal residences), since the 1960s. A classic style, historically worn by men as a house shoe, they grew in popularity for formal events and are now having a re-birth as a casual loafer. When you visit, you’ll often see our Managing Director Marc sporting his latest pair worn with denim.
We manufacture and sell a range of slippers, from plush velvet dress slippers with a cemented sole to our leather soft-sole Turn slippers, perfect for pottering around the house. We design for all, with sizes starting from a 2 to a 14 in the Albert slipper. One of the many great things about this slipper is the gender-neutral design, with a choice of two last shapes and a multitude of ways to customise your own pair.
Our ‘Made Your Way’ offering gives customers the chance to do just that. It’s a consultation where we work together to create something just for you.
We love to hear your ideas and often use images as a starting point. From creating your own monogram to choosing the colour of the velvet upper, deciding on linings, trims, and even the shape of the tongue. We often say the velvet dress slipper is one shoe, a million different ways.
Bowhill & Elliott’s own brand are made completely by hand in their on-site Norwich workshop!
For us, it’s a way of life and a responsibility to maintain that way of manufacturing. We see ourselves as custodians of Bowhill & Elliott, so it’s really important for us to honour and maintain the skill and craft that had such great influence and presence in this area.
The design process is always fun and very much a team effort.
All our embroidery is done by hand, with a technique known as gold work, which is a combination of wires and threads, giving far more depth than a standard machine embroidery. Once the embroidery has been completed, we start the making process, which is all done in our Norwich workshops.
First up is the ‘clicking’ process, when material is cut around the pattern by hand. We also cut the linings and the socks ready for the next stage, ‘closing’. The closers put all the pieces of shoe together. Then it’s the ‘lasting’ process- forming the insole to the last (a plastic form a shoe is made on) and drafting the upper to the insole. Once drafted, the sides and backs are tacked into the insole by hand and the excess fabric is very skillfully pleated in a ‘pull-pince’ motion- ‘toeing’. Not for the faint hearted! The lasting process is usually completed with a hydraulic lasting machine, whereas we do this by hand.
Then we move onto the soles. Our dress slippers are cemented with soles made exclusively for us, to our exact specifications. Finally, the shoes are slipped off the last and we nail the sole units before sending them for finishing, where they’re socked, wrapped and boxed ready for the customer!
Visit Bowhill & Elliott in-store on London Street!
We’re blushing! Thank you, retail can be tough so it’s really important to us to have a space that feels welcoming, where customers want to visit again and again.
A bricks and mortar shop has been part of our history since 1874 and always will be. Even with our global stockists and online growth, we believe it’s important to have that face-to-face interaction. As well as preserving the manufacturing side, it’s also important for us to deliver exceptional customer service when you step through the door.
With its dark wood and imposing windows, the shop can look quite formal, but once you step inside, you’ll soon realise the vibe is traditional with a touch of fun.
It’s a really personal shopping experience- our sales associates guide you through the process, whether it’s for your first pair of patent Opera pumps or a pair of cowboy boots from one of our newer brands, Penelope Chilvers.
Something we’ve championed for a while is our ‘local price’ initiative. When you purchase from our own brand, there’s a ‘local price’: £50 off in-store only. Not only does it encourage people to visit but also to seek out what else Norwich has to offer.
The Albert slippers are gender neutral, as formalwear or as house shoes
We like to think of ourselves as a ‘slow wear’ manufacturer, championing the made in England ethos. We encourage the idea of a considered purchase, believing that anything from us should be seen as an investment, to be worn and enjoyed.
Not just shoes either. Last year we launched ‘Bowhill & Friends’. We now proudly stock workwear by Yarmouth Oilskins, Blackhorse Lane Atelier denim and hats by Ellie Vallerini all in-store, with more to come!
We have a motto of ‘buy better, buy less’. It’s even been said we can sometimes discourage customers from buying another pair of shoes, when a repair or time spent shoe cleaning could benefit the shoe instead!
For us it’s important to stay focused- we sell a niche product, and we like it that way.
We want to be creative when it comes to retail and try to make sure that every visit is an experience, not just a purchase, whether that’s online or in-store. We aren’t looking for world domination or for fancy machinery to replace our skilled artisans. We aren’t in the business of launching new styles every few weeks; we’d rather focus on quality over trends and keep the tradition of shoemaking alive and kicking.
Bowhill & Elliott is open Monday – Saturday, and on Sunday by appointment. Find them on London Street in the Norwich Lanes and discover their collection via their website!
