AN AWARD-winning shoemaker is battling an unscrupulous Chinese manufacturer which is illegally selling cheap plastic copies of her handmade leather work.

Ruth Emily Davey owns RED Shoes and is co-partner with her mentor, Alan James Raddon, in The Original Shandals Company in Machynlleth, is continuing a tradition of leather shoemaking in the town.

She has taken legal advice about a Chinese company ripping off her work and photography, but research discovered the UK-based holding company is valued at just £1 and Ruth is unable to afford to pursue the company in China.

A local film company has documented her story and she relaunched The Original Shandals Company website - www.Shandals.co.uk - on June 20 to counteract the Chinese company.

A workshop for The Original Shandals Company was opened and equipped a year ago to start making cheaper, off-the-peg Shandals and boots that can be bought online.

Ruth and Alan are now training two apprentices, Margo Edwards, 27, at RED Shoes and Paul Hutton, 47, at The Original Shandals Company and plan to take on a third apprentice.

“Our aim is to continue to make shoes with exceptionally high quality, but at a higher volume to expand production and create a workforce in a rural town, once famed for its leather industry, to help put Machynlleth on the map once again,” said Ruth.

“We became aware, last spring, that a Chinese footwear manufacturer was copying our copyrighted photographs of our high quality, bespoke leather Shoes and Shandals and illegally selling very cheap plastic copies of our work.

“These have been widely circulated all over social media and sold in their thousands all over the world.

“It was only early this year that we realised just how vast this Chinese fraud was. The extent to which we are glaringly being directly ripped off is quite shocking and at times like this, is really devastating to our livelihoods.

“They are marketing the cheap, plastic copies using our copyrighted photographs, which are being sold on more than 100 websites, in 108 languages, all around the world, widely circulated on every social media platform such as Facebook and Instagram. However, they are not making allies of their dissatisfied victims.

“We know we are not the first, or last, to be copied, but when it happens to you, it doesn’t feel like a compliment. It feels like all our years of hard work is being undercut and undermined by the actions of hungry manufacturers with little regard for the lives and livelihoods of small scale, genuine makers who don’t have the means to financially defend ourselves.

“We are self-employed makers and make one pair at a time, with integrity. We make them to last and we work incredibly hard.”

Ruth trained and worked with Alan, designer and shoemaker at Aberarth, near Aberaeron, for 15 years from the age of 18. She set up RED Shoes in 2010, opened her first shop in Machynlleth four years ago and now makes shoes to Alan's designs under licence and has introduced her own range of designs.

The pandemic arrived at completely the wrong time for the business, with the relaunch of www.Shandals.co.uk planned.

“Setting up business is challenging at the best of times, particularly when it involves making items by hand and the investment in training employees and creating a workforce in an area which is very reliant on tourism and events like Machynlleth Comedy Festival,” added Ruth.

“Like everyone else we have been stopped short in our tracks with the global pandemic going on. The town is quiet and we have closed the workshop until advised to open again, while we work behind closed doors on the orders we have coming in.

“We are worried about the long-term effects on our towns, our economy, our workforces and our communities, but we will have to find a way to go on. That is why we all must shop with conscience. Buy from the real makers, support each other, shop locally where possible.”

To promote the businesses, Ruth joined MWT Cymru, an independent organisation representing more than 600 tourism and hospitality businesses across Powys, Ceredigion and South Gwynedd.