If someone had told me, five years ago when I was studying to be an accountant, that I would be modelling lasts, I wouldn't have believed them!

posted by Sara Metcalfe
7 October 2015

My Clarks Story - Kerry

Although I grew up near Clarks HQ, I never considered working for Clarks. I studied accountancy at university and started work at an accountancy firm. Accountancy was always what I wanted to do, but I quickly realised it wasn't for me. I stuck it out for a couple of years before I started my Clarks story by taking a temporary role in the payroll department at the start of 2011.

I really enjoyed it because the people are so friendly and helpful and I like the culture at Clarks. But I still wasn't in quite the right role for me. In my spare time I did quite a bit of pottery and stone sculpture and when I saw the vacancy in the Last Development team, it was kind of a light bulb moment. But I didn't get my hopes up as I had no experience and there had never been a female who worked in last making in the history of Clarks.

I had a friend in the Leather department and she took me to meet the team, Bob and Gerald, who between them have worked as last makers at Clarks for 70 years! After speaking with them, I really wanted the job so I applied and had an interview and practical test that involved making some alterations to a last. Luckily, I had used some of the tools before, so it went well.

That weekend I remember going to Glastonbury Festival and thinking about the job all weekend. When I got back, I got the great news that I got the job!

Three and a half years later, I’m still loving my job. The advances in technology have made the job more creative with less manual work and I am proud to be the first ever female last modellist at Clarks. And now I have some female company as we have another girl!

If someone had told me, five years ago when I was studying to be an accountant, that I would be modelling lasts, I wouldn't have believed them! So, I'm really grateful to Bob for giving me the opportunity.

Kerry - Last Modellist – Role Profile

My role sits within Product Development – developing shoes from the initial idea to the finished product.  Here at Clarks every shoe style has a hand crafted last and that’s where I come in! A designer will come to me with a brief for a new shoe design. I will then take the information they have given me and develop a last that fits the brief. Really comfortable shoes start with perfect lasts so it’s important that they are just right. Creating the perfect last can take anything from half an hour to a day - all depending on whether we are remodelling a last or creating a brand new one. When I have a last that I’m happy with, I’ll 3D scan the model and send the data to one of our factories who will make a sample of the shoe. We then work closely with the fitting team -testing the shoe on a fitting model and making any alterations. One of my favourite parts of my jobs is visiting the local schools with new styles for the children to try on and wear test for us!

During my time at Clarks, I’ve had some great opportunities. From travelling to China to visit our factories to spending some time in our Originals department, on a 2 month secondment, so that I could fully understand the next step in the shoe making process. When I started my role, I was also enrolled on the BFA Foundations in Footwear Technology course. This is a 10 module course, covering a wide breadth of shoe expertise, which we now carry out completely in-house. I’ve accumulated enough technical knowledge during the last few years to be able to present the Last and Fitting module to my colleagues. Opportunities like these, being able to use my creative side and the Clarks culture are what make me love my job.

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