While Yohei Fukuda was learning the art of shoemaking in London in the early 2000s he applied to work at John Lobb, one of the oldest and most prestigious footwear firms in the world. He was offered a position, but was asked if he would accept payment in shoes — not money. Somewhat taken aback, Fukuda nonetheless accepted. On starting work, he was surprised to be told that he would, in the normal way, be paid after all. "It was a test," he says now, explaining that he thinks it may have been a way of gauging his dedication to the sacred art of shoemaking. If it was, he clearly passed.