Reinventing clog making

• • Elena has adapted this popular and traditional craft to modern times
• • She has a master’s degree in Leather Design from the Loewe Foundation
• • Three generations of the Ferro family have worked in the workshop

Elena Ferro leads the third generation of wooden clog makers in her family. Along with her sisters, she keeps alive this artisan practice, which has always been in danger of disappearing since the industrial revolution. Her father and aunt taught her the techniques of the craft and to take pride in the work made in the family workshop. At 18, after finishing high school, she took over the workshop created by her grandfather in 1915 in the town of Merza (Pontevedra). Since then, she has been creating clogs and other leather goods with innovative designs and colours that are inspired by the nature of the Galician region. In 2019, Elena was awarded the National Craftsmanship Award for reinventing this humble footwear as a fashionable accessory.