I understand celebrities go for John's shoes in a big way. Who?

The earliest sighting we can recall was when director Robert Altman came in during filming of "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" (that's a long time ago, Fluevogers) and bought a pair of knee - high, quasi - mediaeval boots. John had had his picture taken in them, only moments before. But we're not going to give Bob his money back.

In her movie, "Truth Or Dare", HRH Madonna opens a box of hot pink platform Fluevogs, slips them daintily on, clumps down the hall toward the camera and croaks,"Ya like 'em?". Exhibiting good taste. Madonna. Who'da thunk it?

Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth has been spotted regularly, loitering in our New York outpost, as has Perry Farrell, of Jane's Addiction and cofounder of Lollapalooza. Evidently Jane's addicted to Fluevogs. We don't mind.

Marilyn Manson and his merry band of supermodels recently graced (!) our Vancouver head office. But they just wanted free shoes, so we told them to piss off (unlike some of their fans, who tell them to piss on*). Even though we denied them free access to our shoes, they were still nice enough to grant us free access to their show. John went with Keith, who loved it (especially the part when the huge backdrop came down and spelled out the word "DRUGS" in twelve - foot Broadway lights), while John hated it. But then, he and young Mr. Warner have, uh, ideological differences.

*Ew.

Are John Fluevog Angels really Satan resistant?

You're wearing Angels right now, right? Look around - do you see him?

Who played vibes with Benny Goodman's big band between 1936 and 1940?

After a chance encounter in a New York jazz club, in the Summer of 1936, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton found himself invited to join the Benny Goodman Orchestra as a featured soloist. Hampton's playing style fit naturally into the smooth, melodic, yet strongly rhythmic arrangements that characterized the Swing Era and Goodman's band in particular. In 1940, after distinguishing himself in that organization, Hampton left to form his own band, being later succeeded in his previous position by Red Norvo. A true giant of jazz himself, Hampton shared the stage over the next several decades with the field's elite, including Gene Kruppa, Charlie Christian, Harry James, Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Dexter Gordon and Dinah Washington. As well as the vibraphone, Lionel Hampton was proficient on piano, drums and occasionally as a vocalist. His 1954 recording of "Flying Home", made with Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown and Buddy Rich, became his signature tune, as well as his biggest commercial hit.

How can I find a Fluevog store near me?

All of our store locations are listed in the JF STORES section of our web site, as well as their phone numbers and email addresses. You can also find retailer listings at the very bottom of our JF STORES section for our Canadian and American retailers, as well as their phone numbers and addresses.

What's the capital of Uruguay?

Montevideo es la ciudad capital de la República Oriental del Uruguay. Un cerro, diversas playas y una bahía dan marco a un departamento convertido en ciudad, un histórico y democrático centro, más de cincuenta barrios, salas de espectáculo y exposiciones, fiestas populares, paseos verdes, el fútbol a la vuelta de cada esquina, ferias y "boliches" son algunas de las notas propias de Montevideo. A las caracteristicas de la vida de la capital del Uruguay, para 1996 le corresponde la responsibilidad de integrarle el privilegio de ser Capital Iberoamericana de la Cultura. 

Does John really have the same birthday as Barbra Streisand? Sorry - I mean, does Barbra Streisand really have the same birthday as John? Sorry.

Yes, it's true - they're star mates. Brian Eno, too. And somebody else we can't remember right now.

Does John actually design all the shoes?

Most of what you see are John's own original designs. Sometimes, however, they come to him in dreams, so the design credit technically goes to God. In some cases, there is a celestial music and new designs float into the design office on little fairy wings. In other cases, John leaves work very late at night, returning the next morning to find brilliant new shoe designs waiting, with no trace of authorship. As you can understand, the only explanation possible is that God is responsible for the latter two methods, whether directly or through elvin delegation. So, here at John Fluevog Shoes, we officially have two designers: John and God. Sometimes they fight over who's head designer.

Do you have special Fluevog elves that do shoe repairs?

All our styles are shoe repair friendly, which means that any local shoe cobbler in your area should be able to do repairs for you. There is no special trick to repairing or refurbishing your old Vogs. Our 8 retail locations also use their local shoe cobbler's services.

Where are your shoes made and what are the factory working conditions?

In Europe we make shoes in both Poland and Portugal. Both countries are members of the European union, and as such have to comply with very strict European work regulations and standards. Our factory workers are paid generally above their countries minimum wage, work 8 hour days and have 1 1/2 hr lunches, and no mandatory overtime, though if they work overtime, they are compensated appropriately for it.

The factories we work with are usually small, and family owned and operated. They are located in rural parts of Portugal and Poland, and they are a part of the infrastructure of the area, providing employment and revenue. Often the workers all know each other, and have been living in the region all their lives, so there is a sense of community.

We have been working with the same factories for years, and we have a close personal relationship with them, and are committed to them. We started making shoes in Poland shortly after the country ceased to be communist, and have been working with the same factory since, with the same production manager (Gregory), who is a very close friend of John's.

The machinery used at the factories is new and up to date, and our factories have a great safety record. They are clean, well lit, spacious, and walking through them, you hear conversations, music, and people just doing their work. Most of the workers are in their mid 20s to 40s...(I haven't seen anyone over 50 working on the factory floor in the factory tours I've done. Nor have I seen anyone that struck me as particularly young).

We work with small factories, which make smaller quantities of shoes -100-800 pairs a day (in comparison with large factories, that can produce as many as 3-10,000 pairs a day). Our shoes are all handmade with pride. This is all reflected in the price of our shoes, as our factories pay their workers a decent wage, give them decent benefits packages and medical insurance, and because we use only the best materials. The small number of shoes we order also means that we don't get the 'bulk' buying discount that happens when you buy in huge quantities.

Recently, we started producing a couple of lines in China. John has toured the factory personally and is satisfied with what he saw. The factory is certified and as our order numbers are quite small by most scales, our shoes are also hand made in China.

Additionally, we produce a small number of limited edition lines in Vancouver, Canada. John works with Master Shoemaker Ken Rice of Granville Island, Vancouver on the occasional Couture Vog line - these too are completely hand made.

The factories we are currently working with, we work with because: a) they can make our shoes (which are very complicated to make, by shoe world standards) b) because we are a good fit with them. With respects to them liking and supporting our design vision, because their production ability (numbers) suits us, and because we get on well with them.

Do you make non-leather vegetarian styles?

We've just released our newest vegetarian line called the Veggie Vogs. For starters, we turned 2 of our best selling classic styles into vegetarian friendly versions. The Gibson Swirl into the Veggie Swirl and the Supervog into the SuperVeg. We are hoping that the success of this line will allow us to produce more vegetarian styles in the future. Uppers are made of hemp-cotton blend and a memory foam insole for maximum comfort. Lined with nylon, 100% natural gum rubber soles and water-based adhesive.

Can your shoes be resoled?

Yes, our Angel soled shoes and F-shoes are ‘resoleable’ (and it’s easy to do too!).
If you have a John Fluevog store close to you, all you have to do is purchase a pair of appropriately sized Angel soles, or F-soles, then take your new soles and shoes to your local shoe repair to be fixed up. Or, you can cruise in and drop off your shoes with one of our sales staff to be resoled.

If you don’t live close to a John Fluevog store, you can order them online under the ‘REPLACEMENT PARTS’ section of our website and have us ship you a pair of soles. Store locations, email addresses and toll free phone numbers can be found in the F-World section of our web site. A pair of soles cost between $15 to $20, including the heels.