Carmina

In 1866, a Spaniard named Matias Pujadas opened a small shoe shop in the city of Inca. At a time when factory-made shoes were not yet standard, the Pujadas business bore fruit. His work was continued in the second generation by his son Mateo. In 1905, he opened one of the first Goodyear welted shoe factories in the Balearic Islands. This foundation was good to build on, so Mateo's son José Albaladejo Pujadas also ended up in the same industry. In 1961, he founded Yanko, one of the largest shoe companies in Spain. The golden age came in the '80s, when Yanko sold over a million pairs of shoes, and the pace only slowed down in the '90s.

The demand for quality footwear had decreased and factories had either to specialize or break even by lowering prices. In 1997, José founded Carmina with the help of his wife and children, with the intention of focusing on hand made welted shoes. Today, Carmina is sadly a little-known player, although competing on quality in the same market as English manufacturers. Carmina stands out with its large selection of women's footwear, its shell cordovan collection and, its finishing. Carmina's lasts are graceful, the leather is hand-cut, the models are hand made and partly hand-lasted. The factory also has a maintenance service and an online custom service for special models.