Interview with Dominik Goral, Commercial and Creative Director of Goral & Son, about Goral Handcrafted Shoes

Fashion - Interview

by Mehmet Kaplan

The values ​​of the products are determined by the materials used in, production methods, designs, and the know-how ​​that the manufacturer reflects on their products. Founded in 1936, Goral & Son is a family run business whose shoes are designed by its own design team and the entire collection is produced in its own factory in Sheffield, England. The Goral family believes that the most crucial factor in terms of managing high-quality production is having control over the whole process from the beginning to the end. Goral has achieved this in their own factory and presents their handcrafted shoes with the Goral, Made in England label. With more than 80 years of experience, Goral designs and produces sneakers that reflect the contemporary British style in the Goral & Son factory opened by the Princess Royal. I talked with Dominik Goral, Commercial and Creative Director of Goral & Son, about Goral and their brand philosophy.

Dominik, before talking about Goral, could you tell us about yourself? Who is Dominik Goral?

I was born and brought up in Poland before moving to England in 2006 when I was nine years old. I was brought up around footwear manufacture spending much of my childhood and teenage years observing shoemaking and helping out with some of the processes after school and at weekends.

The village I came from is well known for shoemaking with many footwear factories around the area. In 2010, my family reopened our factory in England. I was fortunate to learn and help with the company around my schooling and university studies which led me to now managing the commercial/creative side of the business.

Goral Handcrafted Shoes

Goral, founded in 1936, is a family run business and you are a member of the third generation. How does it feel to keep your family heritage alive?

My father, Bogdan is the 3rd generation, and I am part of the 4th generation. I feel very lucky to have this history within my family and the responsibility to carry on the heritage that my great grandfather created in 1936.

Could you tell us about Goral?

We have been making shoes and uppers for other brands since the beginning and decided to launch our own branded collection. We have the resources and knowledge of the footwear industry, so it seemed to be a natural decision to make. This gives us an advantage by having manufacturing in-house enabling us to have control over production and create quality shoes straight from our factory.

Goral Handcrafted Shoes

Could you tell us about the design and production philosophy of Goral shoes?

Goral shoes offers modern yet timeless footwear designs incorporating traditional British manufacturing techniques. Some of these techniques we have incorporated into our new collection include gimping and punching details.

What kind of different footwears do you offer to your customers?

We currently offer sneakers to our customers, and our new collection will be sneakers. In the future, we have aspirations to offer different footwear types in fitting with our brand.

Goral Handcrafted Shoes

How often do you change up your footwear collection?

We have launched a new collection in late February, following this, we plan to bring new styles in throughout the year and different colourways for different seasons.

What kind of materials do you prefer to use in shoe production?

Within our collection, the majority of the materials used are high-quality leathers or suede.

This provides a long-lasting quality shoe. We source all of our materials from the UK and Europe.

Goral Handcrafted Shoes

Social media is a new showcase for fashion brands. What do you think about the power of social media on buyers' decisions?

The power of social media can't be underestimated, it's a great tool in brand exposure, allowing emerging brands to showcase their products alongside established brands. It gives the consumer greater insight to different brands that they may not have seen through traditional marketing.

How can our readers follow Goral?

Our shoes are for sale via our website www.goral-shoes.co.uk, which also contains information about our brand and new updates.

Keep updated of our brand via our Instagram @goralfootwear and our Facebook @goralfootwear

Goral Handcrafted Shoes

What is next for you?

The aim is to grow Goral both nationally and globally, positioning the brand in the high-end luxury shoe market, whilst keeping the heritage and craftsmanship at the core of the brand.

Thank you Dominik for your time.

For more information, please click here to visit the website of Goral & Son

This interview was conducted in a Question-and-Answer format. The answers were checked for grammar and punctuation and published without any additional editing. Thursday, May 16, 2019. All photos are the property of their respective owners.