In 1972, Fred Coen was studying oceanography in San Diego and living in a house next to a leather factory. The 25-year-old had some free time on his hands and became interested in turning scraps of leather that were tossed in a nearby trash container into sandals. The budding oceanographer transformed himself into a shoemaker in less than a year.
"I moved back to New York with $1,000 worth of leather tools and started making sandals in Brooklyn," recalled Coen. "I credit my mentor, Seymour Askanazi, for helping me become an orthopedic shoemaker."
Coen is a board certified pedorthist, a specialist in using footwear to solve problems related to the foot. A podiatrist takes a plaster cast, foam mold or computer image of the foot, but it's the pedorthist who makes the final product. Coen converted the two-car garage at his Santa Fe home into a leather shop where he makes orthopedic insoles and orthopedic shoes for clients in New Mexico and surrounding states.
"I have a deformity in my feet from rheumatoid arthritis, which means I need custom shoes," said Coen's client Richard Dobrin. "It's very difficult to find a really good orthopedic shoemaker. Fred is one of the very few guys who has really got it. He's extraordinary."
Coen first learned about orthopedic footwear by visiting Askanazi's shop, two blocks down the street from his New York sandal shop, and watching him make shoes. He took classes in anatomy and physiology at Brooklyn Community College and eventually became certified as a pedorthist.
In 1993, Coen and his wife, Lucy DiPonzio, decided to move to New Mexico and bought a trailer in Glorieta. Coen set up his shop in the old stone Pecos post office building and rented the space for five years.
When the lease agreement ran out, the couple moved to San Francisco so Coen could work with his other significant mentor, certified pedorthist Arnie Davis. After three years with Davis, Coen and DiPonzio moved back to New Mexico and found a place to rent in Tesuque. Last year, they purchased their Santa Fe home. Coen now has a permanent spot for the 40,000 pounds of equipment he needs for his business.
One of his most important tools is the early 20th century Singer sewing machine he uses daily.
"I've been using it from the start," Coen said. "It works great. There's no need to buy something else."
Making specialized footwear is only half of Coen's home-based business. He's also a leather handbag designer who has created lines of women's handbags for the past 30 years. His beaded leather concho belts are sold to wholesale customers around the country. He's made backpacks and briefcases and is in the process of developing a leather shopping bag. One of his most recent endeavors has been fabricating 3-inch leather buttons for a New York company that makes fur and leather coats.
He says he only works with leather from animals that are not endangered or mistreated.
"Usually, I make pretty fancy stuff," he said. "My style these days is more geared toward the contemporary rather than the Southwestern look. There's been a glut of Southwestern items in the marketplace."
Coen describes himself as having the "mule-like mentality" he believes it takes to be able to work well with leather. He usually sticks with every project he starts, but one project begun years ago remains unfinished.
"I've spent about 2,000 hours developing a process to make strong, waterproof leather Frisbees," he explained. "There are a few reasons why it wouldn't be practical for me to continue working on this project and to take it to completion for marketing. But all those hours were put in out of passion."
See the Shoemaker
To set up an appointment to see Fred Coen, call 982-4408.
