Bloch (company)
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| Industry | Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1931 |
| Founder | Jacob Bloch |
| Headquarters | Sydney, Australia |
| Products | Dance supplies |
| Website |
www |
Bloch is a manufacturer of pointe shoes and other types of dance shoes (including tap, jazz, ballroom, and Latin American), dance costumes, and dance fashion accessories.
Bloch Designers
Jacob Bloch founded the Bloch Company and designed its first products. Bloch was able to make Bloch world famous. Now, Jozette Hazzouri is the official designer of Bloch's merchandise.
History
The Bloch company was founded by Jacob Bloch, a cobbler who emigrated from Eastern Europe to Australia in 1931, during the pinnacle of The Great Depression and began making shoes in a workshop where he lived. [1] Bloch began making pointe shoes in a workshop in Paddington, Sydney in 1932, when he noticed a ballet dancer struggling to stay en pointe and offered to make her an improved pair of shoes. Later, he made customised ballet shoes for Tamara Toumanova, David Lichine, Helene Kirsova, and other visiting Russian ballet dancers.
As Bloch started making more and more pointe shoes, people started to like the high quality and stability his shoes offered. This made the Bloch shoe spread quickly across Australia and the shoes became recommended in the professional ballet masters in Russia.
Over time, the company expanded its products to include dance and street apparel and accessories. They now sell anything from leotards to ribbon for pointe shoes to headbands for dance. [1] Today, Bloch's corporate headquarters are located in Sydney, Australia, with a European head office in London. It operates one flagship store and 17 other stores in Australia, and one store in London; all other sales are conducted through an international network of independent retailers.
The Bloch Pointe Shoe in Detail
Bloch employs a pointe shoe manufacturing method known as turnshoe. Bloch pointe shoes use three different recipes of paste in the toe box.[2] The standard paste, "paste A", is a firm, hard paste, that was formulated to withstand varying heat and humidity. "Paste B" is more malleable and thus allows the shoe to more quickly mold to the shape of the foot; because of its high malleability, this paste breaks down (i.e., shoe structural support degrades) faster than paste A. A third recipe, known as "TMT™" or "Thermo-Morph Technology" paste, is a heat activated material that allows the shoe to be molded to the foot when subjected to directed hot air from a hair dryer.[3]
Merchandise
For shoes, Bloch sells Ballet Flats, Pointe Shoes Ballet, Jazz Shoes, Character shoes, Tap and Stage shoes, Ballroom and Latin Dance Shoes, Dance Fitness Sneakers, Split Sole Dance Sneakers, Dance Teaching shoes, Dance Feet Accessories, and Contemporary Dance Footwear. For apparel, Bloch sells Dance Leotards, Dance Separates, Dance Pants, Warm-Up Wear, Irina&Max Accessories, Tights/ Underwear, Men's Dance wear, and Children's Dance wear. In addition, they sell baby dance clothing.
Although they have so many items now, Bloch started out with the pointe shoe. The type of pointe shoes they offer differ greatly and are meant to be customized to the dancer's foot. To get the best fit, one can go to the stores located in Australia and London, England or they can go to a local retailer. The Pointe shoes Bloch offers prices range from $65.00 to $80.00. Their shoes are subjected to certain criteria such as Dancer Level, Paste Type, Vamp, Platform, Shank, and Price Range online.
List of Pointe Shoes Bloch offers from 2014-
1. Bloch Hannah Ballet Pointe Shoes
2. Bloch European Balance Ballet Pointe Shoe Strong
3. Bloch Axiom Ballet Pointe Shoe
4. Bloch Amelie Soft Ballet Pointe Shoe
5. Bloch Axis Ballet Pointe Shoes
6. Bloch Tensus Demi Ballet Pinte Shoe
7. Bloch Balance Ballet Pointe Shoe
8. Bloch Sonata Pointe Ballet Shoes
9. Bloch Amelie Ballet Pointe Shoe
10. Bloch Alpha Ballet Pointe Shoe
11. Bloch Jetstream Ballet Pointe Shoe
12. Bloch Serenade Strong Ballet Pointe Shoe
13. Bloch Suprima Ballet Pointe Shoe
14. Bloch Heritage Ballet Pointe Shoe
15. Bloch European Balance Ballet Pointe Shoe
16. Bloch B Morph Ballet Pointe Shoe
17. Bloch Synergy Ballet Pointe shoe
18. Bloch Aspiration Ballet Pointe Shoe
19. Bloch serenade Pointe Ballet Shoes.
The average Bloch Pointe shoe lasts 12-15 hours. These shoes are handcrafted.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "About Us". Bloch. Retrieved 2013-03-21. Bloch's love for dance and music allowed him to travel to local ballet studios and watch the dancers.
- ↑ "2008 Pointe Shoe Guide". Pointe Magazine. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
- ↑ "How to modify TMT Pointe Shoes". Dancewear 365. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
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