Spring 2016 | Gloversville Today

At one time there were over 750 glove factories going at it full tilt boogie. Some of these buildings are monumental in scale [Zimmer's Gloves pictured above was a manfacturer of gloves and mittens] while others were as small as doll houses. They are scattered throughout Gloversville. I drove around town and took these images. It wasn't easy. I kept thinking about the many people that flocked here for work. And then the industry was over. Today most of the glove factories are either boarded up or abandoned all together. 
And now I am here and they are not. 
This is a sorrowfully beautiful story.

One of my favorite glove factories is the Daniel Hayes Glove Company. They began producing fine men's and women's gloves in 1854. Their dress gloves were beautifully made and their selections of leather were of the highest quality primarily mocha suedes. Today it stands alone, frightened amidst a rich history that America left behind.

Original interior image sewing room of the Daniel Hayes Glove Factory.

When I arrived in Gloversville back in 2000 with my 1 year old son Andre I found my way to Frank Vertucci's glove shop. Once a week we would visit Frank. His glove factory was filled to the brim from glove boxes to leather to labels and pretty much everything you needed to run a successful glove firm. Frank was primarily a smart businessman. He knew how to make gloves but, he left that to his employees. He was a big gun in this city. Always sitting in his office with a big fat cigar perched on his lips. He was a great guy with some terrific stories. He made my son Andre laugh a lot.

One of the saddest stories is Fownes Brothers & Company. Founded in 1777 and America's largest producer of men's, women's and children's gloves. When I arrived I managed to convince the owner of this building at the time to allow me inside so I could feel the energy of what once was. He let me in but he did not follow. The building is filled with pigeons. I walked every floor and every inch of it while pigeons flew above me. I now call it the bird house.

Rear view of Fownes Brothers & Company

Rear entrance of Fownes Brothers & Company

Louis Meyers & Son. One of the most elegant glove buildings in all of Gloversville. This glove company also produced dress gloves for men, women and children. Today the building exterior is boarded up and used for storage.

Side view entrance of Louis Meyers & Son

At one time this was the side entrance for the glove workers. 

Rear view of Louis Meyers & Son. This gives you an idea of the scale of this building. Impressive and sad at the same time.

Original image of Louis Meyers & Son. This was a large glove firm that employed well over a thousand people from designers to table cutters and finishers. This image is proudly displayed in my glove shop in downtown Gloversville.

Spring 2016 | STORTO The Glove Shop

Just the other day | Glove display

My glove shop in Gloversville New York

"I am not a brand,

I am a one man band."

- Daniel Storto

Tools of the Trade

My cutting block | One hit at a time

Paper Templates

I have always made my own glove patterns. When I design a glove I am technically involved in the process right from the start. I don't rely on others. I am a glove maker from design to the finished glove placed on your hand. Every step of the way. 

Tools of the Trade

A glove die passed down to me from Joe Pagano a former glove maker who made fine men's and ladies gloves. Once a week I would stop by his factory to listen to his stories. One day I said to Joe "I'd like that." He replied "One day it will be yours." I miss that guy. 

Tools of the Trade

Men's glove dies. I acquired these while visiting Frank Vertucci a former owner of a glove factory. He was a character. A large man who always had a huge fat cigar sticking out of his mouth. A tough businessman. He would always say to me "This town may be small but it is powerful."

Tools of the Trade

Glove dies. Hundreds and hundreds of different tools that make a glove. Of course they are necessary but you also need imagination, passion, style and dedication. They are important to me not only because they are historical but because many of these tools have been passed down to me from former glove makers that have come before me. They would come in to my shop and share their stories. By the time I arrived in Gloversville I missed the greatest show on earth. I can't bring back the industry to what it was. I can only show it in another way.

Tools of the Trade

A ladies glove die. The majority of the glove tools were made here in Gloversville New York dating back to the 1800s. Inspirational. You bet. This would be called a clicker die. Used in an air compressed cutting machine allowing for hundreds of gloves to be cut in one action. And also allowing for the most ill fitting gloves. Factories use this method to make garbage for your hands. I don't use the dies in that manner. I block cut. I lift an 80 pound maul into the air and strike the back of the die to cut my gloves. One at a time. All made by hand. Old world. The most beautiful hand made gloves in the world. One man. One pair of gloves at a time.