Rutherford's started out as a one man operation in the late 1970's. John Rutherford is a native of Cootehill, Co. Cavan, Ireland. He's the father of five children who were involved in Irish Dancing, in particular the competitive end of Irish Dancing, and saw a need for improvement in the sound and durability of the existing plastic heels & tips containing only a small narrow layer of fiberglass. So Mr. Rutherford set about experimenting on his children's dancing shoes with completely solid soundblaster fiberglass heels and a special mixture of fiberglass tips.
The childrens' shoes were a rage within the dance school and word of mouth spread like wildfire throughout the feis scene. Soon it seemed everyone was having their existing heels and tips replaced by the increasingly popular Rutherford Fiberglass Heels & Tips. The demand was so great for the heels & tips that the next step was to sell the Jig Shoes complete from the start. With the emergence of Riverdance and Lord of The Dance, and Rutherford Shoes being the shoe of choice for these shows, Rutherford Products impeccable reputation soared to an international level and is now a well known name in all facets of Irish Dancing throughout the world.
Mr. Rutherford, who kept his hand in the Production end of the business was always striving to improve his product and create new innovative ideas. He learned a great deal by his constant interaction with customers and dancers throughout the years and finds this end of the business most rewarding. In addition to shipping shoes all over the world, there are countless thousands who have stopped over to “the house” to try on a pair of shoes. John was always there to great them, and each of those customers, whether they purchase anything or not, they were always offered a cup of tea and a chat. He never shied away from a good long conversation with the customers and thoroughly enjoys hearing the news of the latest World Champion to wear the famous Rutherford Fiberglass Products!
Today, John’s kids continue the legacy and run the business in the quality fashion that John insisted upon. All of John’s kids involved with the business Irish danced, and many of their kids competed and were very successful. We firmly believe this gives us a distinct advantage, both in customer relations, and the design and quality of our shoes. We've been there before and know what works and what doesn't work