Modern boots are no longer associated with dirty gray, clumsy galoshes. Today it is a stylish and popular footwear, not only in Russia but also abroad. Some design models can be compared with works of art - with elegant embroidery, original applique, and chic fur trim.
As for the domestic manufacturer of felt boots, the Kukmorsky Combine is the undoubted leader in the quantity and quality of products.
Features
The felting factory, located in the Tatar village of Kukmor, dates back to the mid-19th century, it was founded by the Komarov brothers. By 1917, the collective of the plant totaled one and a half thousand employees, many of them worked at home. Interestingly, in the Soviet period, the enterprise provided one third of the inhabitants of the Soviet Union with felt boots. Today it is still the largest production of felted shoes and clothes in our country, more than 700 employees successfully work here.
According to tradition, Kukmor felt boots are made of sheep wool (it can be coarse, semi-rough or soft) off-season haircuts. As for handmade work, the famous Romanovsk sheepskin, which is quite common in Tatarstan, is ideally suited for it.
Kukmorsky products have a uniform density, without thickenings and loose sections. In addition, there are no seams on felt boots, except for decorative ones. All products are manufactured strictly in accordance with GOST, which is mandatory indicated on the tag of the manufacturer.
Finished products are painted in a variety of colors only with natural paints.
The company has extensively developed an individual ordering system - you can initially select the desired size, color scheme, and exclusive decor of felt boots.
It is interesting that physicians speak extremely positively about the benefits of Kukmor products. Due to its ability to accumulate dry heat, sheep’s wool is very useful for diseases such as colds, rheumatism, and radiculitis. This hypoallergenic material is indispensable in the presence of an allergy to synthetics and pathologies of the respiratory system. Since felted shoes prevent the deformation of the feet, it is recommended for violations in the musculoskeletal system. The ventilation properties of Kukmor boots prevent the occurrence of fungal infections. In addition, these shoes help relieve nervous tension, and prevent fatigue in the legs and back. Wearing woolen products on a bare foot improves blood circulation, eliminating congestion.
Production stages
Future boots are initially shreds of fleece. Before turning into a finished product, raw materials must go through many production stages.
The process begins with the preparation of the wool - it is washed in a special composition, rinsed in the bathroom, and then dried for forty minutes.
Pure wool has a crumpled look. It loosens, mixes raw materials of different colors (in a strictly defined proportion). A homogeneous mass is taken in the carding workshop - there it is combed with staple rollers and wound into coils.
In the next stage, the wool is wound onto blanks — blanks form the basis of future boots. Lapping occurs on the machines using steam. After the cover is removed, the felt boots are pulled out manually according to certain patterns. This is also a semi-finished shoe called a “cone”.
Then follows the specialist’s manual work - a toe, heel, and also the sole of a felt boot are formed. The result is a giant sock of a strictly specified size and thickness. The woolen product is again steamed. The specialist condenses (adding wool) the most socks of the felt boots, checks for the absence of thin spots.
In a felting workshop, felt boots enter a huge wooden drum, where, due to mechanical stress and high temperature, the workpieces are dumped and reduced in size. Then the products are sent to the dryer, where the temperature reaches almost a hundred degrees.
Almost dry products are waiting in the finishing shop for purely cosmetic refinement - cleaning from excess pile, matching in pairs and determining the size, trimming the shaft. In the vulcanization workshop, boots are made of rubber soles.
The last step is to decorate shoes with embroidery machines, and sometimes manually.
Range
The range of Kukmor boots includes men's, women's and children's options. Male models, as a rule, are black, have a minimal decor (inscription or geometric pattern).
Women's boots are more elegant, presented in a rich color scheme (in addition to traditional colors, blue, blue, and coral are found). Snow-white models decorated with fur of the same color look cute. Boots with a completely furry top look richly.
Female models are often decorated with beautiful floral embroidery, volumetric applique, tassels and pompons. Original models that simulate lacing (especially if it is a contrasting color).
As for the sole, it can be rubber (in female models supplemented with a heel) or felt (knocked down).
A significant niche in the assortment of shoes at Kukmorsky Combine is occupied by the children's line (by the way, in addition to boots, it also includes felt boots, boots, slippers and even booties). Boots for boys, as well as for men, mostly black. Models for girls are most often white or pink, with elegant furry. Children's options are distinguished by colorful and varied embroidery: horses, Christmas trees, hearts, cars, you can even see Santa Claus and Spider-Man on felt boots.
Kukmorsk boots are characterized by a harmonious ratio of price and quality, for this reason they are so in demand among buyers.An adult model can be purchased for 1,500-3,000 rubles, while children's models cost less - about 1,000 rubles.
The company has an established sales system - products can be purchased both wholesale and retail.
Reviews
Almost all owners of Kukmor felt boots are satisfied with their purchase, consider them the best shoes for cold and snowy winters, in which feet never freeze.
However, it should be noted that, judging by the reviews, in urban conditions the classic options without a sole are not very convenient, for example, if you get in vehicles or go into the room, there is a risk of getting your feet wet.
As for the parents who buy the products of the Kukmorsky combine for children, here we find an extremely positive assessment. These shoes are ideal for babies who do not yet walk on their own and sit in strollers while walking. They can be worn over warm socks.
An important advantage of boots is their natural composition, as a result - children's legs in them are not sweaty. Customers are also pleased with the variety of colors of this shoe.
Since winter in our country lasts a long time and often there are significant temperature differences, many parents, in addition to boots, acquire transparent galoshes. In this case, the child is not afraid of slush, as well as wet floors in stores and clinics.
The most pleasant advantage, according to buyers, is, of course, the price of Kukmor boots, which is incomparable with the cost, for example, of winter leather boots.
