03/05/2026
A Piece of Espadrille History
This traditional espadrille workbench, called a “Banco Alpargatero” in Spanish, dates back to 1892.
A century ago, tens of thousands of artisans in Spain and France worked on benches like this, often directly in the streets, hand-stitching espadrille soles from natural esparto grass. It was a trade, a rhythm, and a way of life.
Today, this rare and beautiful bench has found a new home in our DIEGOS Montreal studio, where the tradition continues to inspire our work.
It makes us wonder…
could this be the only Banco Alpargatero in North America?