When you’ve been in business as a ‘solopreneur’ since 1962, you find you’re known for a few things, and you pay no mind about taking your time to relay all the details to anyone within earshot. For Barbara Shaum, 80-something, the legend behind the institution that is Barbara Shaum Ltd. on 60 East 4th Street, that means noting she was the very first woman officially to enter the male-only McSorley’s Bar, and that she hand-makes what fashion icons view to be some of the very best leather sandals and belts in the city. These days, it is rarity to enter a shop where there is a craftswoman who cobbles the very item you plan to slip on, right there in the store. Ms. Shaum, but she doesn’t have plans to retire either. Too many people are depending on her to outfit their feet.

How did you make your way into this business?

I was doing wholesale and living in a loft on West Broadway. I was working for a wonderful sandal-maker who taught me so much of what I know. This was back in the 50s. Then I went on my own in 1962, opening up a shop on 7th Street between Bowery and Second Avenue.

Right next to McSorleys! That must have been interesting.

Absolutely. It was for men only until 1970 when the Civil Rights Bill was passed and they could no long discriminate against women patronizing their establishment. I was the first woman in there and that’s the kind of person I am.

Was there a benefit to being in the location next to such a legendary place?

I sell to men and women and the bar was enormously popular. It was the 60s so there were hippies wearing a lot of belts and sandals so I was making a lot of sandals and belts. That was a good time for me. Lots of off-beat people with style.

People weren’t really worrying about making their rent so much then were they?

In those days things were not so much focused on real estate and money and that sort of thing. My rent was very low. It was $75 a month for quite a large place. I had a front part and a back part where I put up a wall and I lived back there. I also had a backyard and I’d have these big backyard barbecues with like 75 people coming by.

Why did you move to the 4th Street location?

It was the beginning of the ’80s when I lost that shop. The landlord died and his wife wasn’t able to manage it. I had to relocate. It took me a while to get myself together because that was my business and my home. The ’80s was a time when commercial people were coming in and raising the rents like crazy. Back then there were people asking for $5000 a month in rent. I was very active then with trying to keep the rents down and because of that I ended up a part of the Fourth Avenue Arts Block.

Having fought to keep rents down over the decades, do you think the high rent now will ever cycle down?

Sometimes I just throw my hands up, I just don’t know. Bloomberg is the mayor and he’s never lived the way most people live here in New York. It’s really tough. The rents are crazy. I encourage people of course to fight it. We did it in the ’80s. Maybe we can do it again.

Why do you think your business has survived all these years?

Where I have my shop is a very creative area. Being next to McSorley’s for so long was another important part of my business. A good location means you have a lot of foot traffic. But most of my business is word of mouth so it is also the consistency of the quality of my work that I have maintained all these years that is the larger part of why I am still here.

Have there been any specifically boon years for you?

Summers are important. Sandals are what keep my business going. Also, my reputation: I don’t think I have a best or worst year really. It has just been steady. My customers are like family. I tend to see them year after year after year.

What is your overhead like?

Everything we make, we sell. It is pretty much all custom. I like that because I get to really know my customer that way. I make a lot of belts. They are cowhide mostly, but I can make stuff out of bull, snakeskin, and ostrich. I make things out of any material, but it has to be made-to-order. I don’t have a huge amount of anything because it’s expensive.

Has your style evolved over the years?

I am very classical and simple when it comes to my sandals. I don’t put a lot of do-dads on them and crap. Also, my sandals last twenty to thirty years.

Do you have competitors?

Most of my competitors are people who have worked for me at one time or another, but I don’t consider them that way. I don’t think that way. I just do what I do. I teach as well as I can, as many people as I can to keep quality going. I’ve done the sandals for The Row for three seasons. I’ve done a ton of sandals for years and years for Eileen Fisher.

How is business right now for you?

A few months ago I broke my femur so I had to really lower my hours. Right now they are Wednesday to Saturday from 1pm to 6pm. It’s been tough. I’m still doing the work with some part-time help. I haven’t thought about retirement seriously yet. I am not a typical shopkeeper of today. I make things for people right in front of them. I produce. I don’t buy and resell. I’m manufacturing and retail all in one sale. I have a workspace and I use it. I keep things reasonably priced. I don’t think it’s fair that only multi-millionaires can have handmade stuff.

What are your prices like?

The belts start at $85 and then last twenty years. The hand-made, custom-made sandals start at $385 and can go up to $600.

That still is a lot of money for many people. Can you explain what is involved with the craftsmanship so people can get a better idea of what is involved with your artistry?

For sandals, I do a tracing of the person’s feet and make a pattern from that. Then I lay the pattern down, and soak and mold them. Then, I have to lay them out to dry, very, very dry. That takes a long time. Then I cut the straps and shape the straps to the style. Then I dye them, all of them, perfectly which also takes a while to fully get, and that is before I finish them off. I assemble that part of things together and have the customer come in and we glue them together to the shape of the foot. When you look at your shoe I may all look like it’s nothing, but it is a lot of work dyeing each part and making it fit your feet perfectly. The key is to be a good designer. I didn’t go to school for it, it just came naturally to me.

How long does all of this take?

I tell my customers there shoes will be ready in about two to three weeks because of all that goes on and with my broken femur. I can’t do more than three or four pairs a week now. Years ago, I could do maybe 12 shoes in a week – but that was with two other people working in the shop with me.