SINCE 1950s · 3RD GEN
PRO.SHOE.LAB is a family atelier crafting premium leather barefoot footwear for children and babies — private label for Europe's most discerning brands. Three generations at the bench; a fourth already testing the samples.
“The youngest member of the house is three years old — and she is the most honest product tester we have ever employed.”
PRO.SHOE.LAB was founded by Alexandra and Orhan, a husband-and-wife team. The craft runs deeper: Orhan's grandfather began making shoes in Izmir in the 1950s, which makes Orhan a third-generation shoemaker — trained not in seminars, but at the bench.
Seventy years on, the discipline is unchanged: honest materials, patient construction, and a refusal to ship a pair we would not put on our own children. What has changed is the reach — today our work stands in the collections of leading European children's and barefoot brands.
Our speciality is premium leather barefoot footwear for children and babies. Decades at the bench mean we also craft women's and men's footwear, leather slippers and more — in both cemented and Strobel construction.
Client names are under NDA; the work is not. The house has made shoes since the 1950s; barefoot has been its focus for the past ten years, and hundreds of distinct lasts developed at this bench have gone into series production. What follows is what that looked like, project by project.
We entered barefoot production developing shoes for a leading European children's brand — where the standards were set, and met.
EU 20–36 · Lasts developed in-house · 6 seasons, ongoing
We built another label's first barefoot collection in its entirety — the sole unit tooled from scratch, a single bespoke last carved, every pattern drawn in-house.
6 models · One last · One bespoke sole unit
A complete production series for a further established children's brand — season after season, pair after pair.
EU 18–25 · Series production, season after season
Both cemented and barefoot sneakers for a European label — the same hands, two disciplines, one standard.
Cemented + Strobel · A separate last for each sole unit
Ongoing production for barefoot labels — the current chapter of a record still being written.
Two seasons a year — Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter
Children and baby are our speciality; women's and men's barefoot, leather slippers and classic constructions complete the range.
For briefs beyond our benches, decades in the industry become your advantage — a dedicated sourcing and production consultancy.
Most manufacturer sites make you write an email to learn whether you are even eligible to work with them. These are our actual terms, not indicative ranges. Where a figure depends on your style, we say so rather than guess.
Unit price is the one figure we will not put on a page: it moves with the leather article and its consumption, the sole unit, the component count and the volume. Two shoes that look alike can differ by a third. Send a tech pack — or reference images and a target retail price — and it becomes a real number.
Testing is arranged per project, at the accredited laboratory you choose — SGS, TÜV, Intertek, or whichever your buyer requires. We specify the materials to the standard from the start rather than testing at the end and hoping, and we complete the documentation. The laboratory invoices you directly, so the report is issued in your brand's name for your market.
FAQ
PRO.SHOE.LAB produces from 100 pairs per style and colour — each colourway carries its own minimum. Deliberately low, so emerging and established brands alike can test a barefoot collection before committing to volume.
Full guide: private label shoes from Turkey — cost, MOQ and lead time
PRO.SHOE.LAB makes EU 18 to 36, every size in between. Baby and pre-walker shoes at EU 18–19, first walkers at EU 20–23, toddler sizes at EU 24–28, school-age sizes at EU 29–36. A first-walker last and a school-age last are different shapes, because the foot’s proportions and the way it loads change as a child moves from toddling to running — so a full size range normally works across more than one last.
PRO.SHOE.LAB produces most runs in 4–8 weeks from approved samples, depending on style, construction and quantity.
Sampling at PRO.SHOE.LAB takes 2–4 weeks per round. A sample developed over one of our existing lasts costs €100–150; a sample requiring a new last cut from scratch costs €200–250 — both covering the last, the pattern and the sample itself. A bespoke outsole mould and the cutting dies for a full production size run are separate decisions. Those figures assume a straightforward development; designs needing several rounds of revision or more than one last are quoted individually.
Full specification sheet: MOQ, lead times, payment and delivery terms
PRO.SHOE.LAB works on a 30% deposit before production begins and the 70% balance once the order is finished and ready to ship. Quality control belongs to you and happens before the balance is paid: you inspect in person, through your own agent or through a third-party inspection company, and the balance falls due after that inspection. Delivery is EXW Izmir. Turkish export clearance and the A.TR movement certificate are issued by us, so the consignment is already cleared when your forwarder collects it and the goods enter the EU free of customs duty under the EU–Türkiye customs union.
A wide, anatomically shaped toe box, zero heel-to-toe drop, and a thin, flexible sole that lets the foot feel the ground and develop its own strength — built on a custom last, not a thinned-down conventional one.
We do not hold blanket certificates. Testing is arranged per project, on request: we specify the materials to meet the standard you are working to, send the shoes to the accredited laboratory you choose, and complete the documentation around it. The laboratory invoices you directly, so the report is issued in your brand’s name for the market you are selling into — a certificate a factory holds for another company’s product does not transfer to yours. Requirements typically include REACH, the chromium VI limit in leather that contacts skin, and mechanical checks on small parts, slip resistance and sole adhesion.
Children and baby barefoot is our speciality, but we also produce women's and men's barefoot, leather slippers and classic cemented or Strobel construction — plus a dedicated sourcing and production consultancy for briefs beyond our own benches.
We're a family-run atelier in Izmir, Türkiye, producing private label for brands across Europe — with export documentation and shipping handled as part of every order.
Enquiries
From 100 pairs per style and colour · 4–8 week lead times · Reply within 24 hours
Thank you — we read every brief ourselves and will reply within 24 hours, usually sooner.
or reach us directly
Handcrafted in Izmir, Türkiye