Mickey Ashmore is a dealer with a difference. The former hedge-funder turned haute stepper (sorry, we just had to!) took a bold leap kicking up his cushy job to sell what might make for perfect sole mates for the peripatetic gypsetters. His small boutique, The Sabah Dealer, makes gorgeous slip-on footwear that somewhat resemble a distant cousin of the Jaipuri shoes, except his is different in soul and texture. The sabahs—the original shoes of Turkey and Syria—are made of buttery soft calfskin that’ll mould itself around your feet and available in sincerely yummy (think rainbow range) of colours. Ashmore says that there are only two remaining families who make these shoes in Gaziantep, Turkey. ‘I travel back and forth—between Turkey and the US—working with two master craftsmen. But I’ve modified the original by adding rubber on the soles of the shoes for a better grip and added a black piping running through the shoe that adds a cool touch,’ says Ashmore from his Manhattan home, also his studio and showroom.
Interestingly enough, Ashmore stumbled onto shoe business rather serendipitously. After graduating in 2009 (with a brief stint at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad), the 27-year-old got a job working in Microsoft in Istanbul between 2010 and 2012. ‘I was given my first pair of sabahs by my then girlfriend’s grandmother,’ he says. ‘I realised, soon after, that I wore these shoes everywhere and everyday and it was so versatile—even if I was shorts or suits. They looked great with everything.’ Ashmore loved the shoes so much that he travelled to old Turkish bazaars outside Gaziantep, the sabah capital of the country, and got to know the artisans who make them.
‘When I travelled back to the States, I’d present friends and family these shoes. Eventually I started hosting the Sabah Sundays as there were others who were interested in securing a pair of these shoes,’ says Ashmore. The idea was to invite a small bunch of people—mostly extended friends and acquaintances—to swing by his house, fire up a barbeque, have cocktails and indulge them in buying sabahs imported from craftsmen in Turkey. The plan became such a hit that last October Ashmore chucked up the hedge fund gig to give his fledgling entrepreneurial venture a serious shot. ‘For me it is necessary to connect with the craftsmen at every level. They are working towards making my dream and passion possible, I need to do my bit to help them and revive this slowly fading craft,’ says Ashmore.
According to him, working with old world craft and materials warrants a slightly old school marketing approach. ‘I want to create an intimate community where I can have a relationship with the customer and know who is interested in wearing the shoes I am making,’ he says. Fair enough. After all, each pair—priced at $170—is made to order and delivered to customers just when the shipment from Turkey arrives. So be prepared to wait, people. Ashmore also hosts trunk shows or Sabah Sundays at friends’ homes—around the US. But for those on this side of the pond lusting after that leopard print or the glorious purple pair, the best way to score these babies is to email Ashmore (who’ll respond within a few seconds, yes really) on the dealer@sabah.am. Why ‘am’, I ask? Because sabah in Turkish means morning. Ha! Smooth like his shoes.