Grigore Lup came up with the idea of long nose leather shoes to help keep people separate
CLUJ, Romania / BUCHAREST:
Shortly after a two-month lockout to prevent the spread of the new attenuated coronavirus in Romania in mid-May, Grigore Lup, a Romanian shoemaker from the city of Cluj in Transylvania, noticed that people were not following the rules of the social distancing.
So Lup came up with the idea of long-nosed leather shoes to help separate people. They come in a European size 75.
“You can see it on the street, people don’t follow social distancing rules,” said Lup, who has been making leather shoes for 39 years.
“I went to the market to buy plants for my garden. There weren’t many people but they were getting closer and closer.
“If two people wearing these shoes were facing each other, there would be almost a meter and a half between them.”
Although he also sells ready-made shoes, Lup’s store, which he opened in 2001, relies heavily on custom orders from theaters and operas across the country, as well as traditional folk dance ensembles.
His business was virtually halted as the live events were canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but he was cautiously optimistic that sales would pick up over time.
The state of the European Union, which reported 18,791 cases of coronavirus and 1,240 deaths, began gradually easing the lock on May 15.
Lup, who said he adapted the long shoes from a model he made for the actors, said he has so far received five orders for social distancing shoes.
It takes him two days to make a pair, which requires almost a square meter of leather. They cost 500 lei ($ 115) per pair.
Now 55, Lup started making shoes at the age of 16, learning from a shoemaker who, at 93, still makes traditional Hungarian ethnic shoes.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
