With over 120 years in the custom shoe business at our parent company, Maida’s, we are the oldest family owned and continuously operating shoe company in the US. Our quality is our staying power. As Sicilian immigrants, each generation is dedicated to evolving with the times while maintaining the attention to detail and customer care which has been the foundation of our business since 1901. Over the years, we have garnered relationships with the finest leather tanneries from around the world to create the best bespoke footwear on the market. We utilize exotic leathers found in luxurious designer brands, quality most small businesses would never have access to.

Beginning as footwear craftsmen and repairmen of bespoke western boots in 1901, we have perfected a practice commonly known within the shoe community to be the most difficult to build. Through the years, our craftsmen also mastered fine men’s business footwear. Now in the 21st century, the next generation of Maida’s men have stepped into the family business to bring you the GEN1901 brand, where custom hand craftsmanship meets streetwear for today’s sneaker heads. The same expertise that you have come to know, love, and expect from Maida’s is now taking on a new sector of luxury clientele. Exclusively using ethically sourced fine skins, we not only take your sneaker game to the next level, but we make sure that ability is here for years to come.

At GEN1901, our custom sneaker designers work side by side with you in person or by video conference to bring the vision of your custom footwear to life. Together, we create a digital version of your sneakers in order for you to visualize the final design. You are able to pick and choose and change every detail. You are “il capo” (the boss), and our team is here to serve you throughout the entire process. This is the philosophy GEN1901 where every pair is 1 of 1: Be the boss, look like the boss, feel like the boss.

Leather tooling is the art of engraving leather with an image. Leather tooling is done 100% by hand utilizing special tools to carve your desired artwork into a piece of leather. At GEN1901, we are able to bring any special idea of yours to life with this tooling method. After the design is hand chiseled onto the leather, it is then hand painted. Tooling and painting is the crème de la crème for displaying one of a kind artwork on your leather goods. You give us an image, we do the rest.

For more info on our leather tooling process, check out our article: The Art of Tooling

The options are endless when it comes to layering leather. Inlays and Overlays both use different colored and textured leather in layers to create an image, shape or letters. Inlays are made by cutting the finished surface layer of leather in a shape, image, or letter and then placing a different colored leather behind the cut out to depict the image. An overlay is when you cut different colored leather pieces to make objects, shapes or letters which adhere to the top of the finished surface layer of the leather product. You can even combine inlays and overlays to create an even more layered and unique detailed piece.

For more information on inlays and overlays, check out our post: What are inlays and overlays.

GEN1901 has a hardware catalog of precious and semi precious metals and stones  we can use to embellish any of our leather products. The hardware can be adorned with your initials, etchings or a number of creative patterns. Your shoes, wallets, belts, or hangtags can all be decorated with a multitude of jewelry, bling and accents. You can find some of our options under our jewelry section on the shoes and accessories page. Please contact us if you have any more questions about hardware.