It began, as many great ideas do, with two friends and an impossible search for the perfect pair of shoes. University classmates turned lifelong friends, Jahangir Azam and Christopher Boadle had followed separate paths—Jay into banking, Chris into educational technology—until a fateful reunion in 2013 brought them together with a shared vision.

The catalyst was Jay's quest for a unique pair of shoes for a friend's wedding in Sicily. After an impromptu treasure hunt through London yielded nothing suitable, the two friends embarked on their own shoemaking adventure. Jay commissioned a pair of black velvet slippers with embroidered lightning bolts, while Chris opted for emerald-green velvet adorned with Aztec-inspired golden eagles. These shoes became the talk of every gathering they attended, sparking conversations and igniting what would become Arthur Sleep.

When a close friend's passing prompted Chris to reassess his priorities, and Jay found himself yearning for more meaningful work, the seeds of their venture were sown. Starting from a kitchen table, they began crafting bespoke footwear for friends and their wider network. The name 'Arthur Sleep' was chosen for its playful character—a nod to London's Cockney rhyming slang where it translates to 'Half-Asleep', capturing the dreamlike experience of crafting the perfect pair of shoes.

But their vision extended far beyond creating beautiful footwear. They saw an industry in crisis—where hundreds of shoe manufacturers once thrived in London, virtually none remained. Northampton, the historic heart of British shoemaking, had seen its manufacturing base shrink by over 90% in just five decades. With each workshop closure, centuries of refined technique—the precise angle of a cutting blade, the perfect tension of a hand-sewn welt, the exact pressure needed to shape a leather upper—edged closer to being lost forever.

Their response was unprecedented: in 2022, they established London's first new shoe manufacturing facility in over a century on Savile Row, creating a space where heritage techniques met modern innovation. For the first time in most people's lives, they could witness the metamorphosis of raw leather into meticulously crafted footwear. This wasn't just manufacturing—it was a living exhibition of craft, offering visitors a rare glimpse into an art form that had shaped British luxury for centuries.