Stratford Festival gives a home to the lost trades of Ontario

Though they were once the lifeblood of manufacturing cities like Kitchener and Hamilton, it's hard to find anyone making hats and shoes in Ontario anymore. 

The former Kaufman Footwear factory has been converted into condo lofts, while the Rumpel Felt Company sits empty in Kitchener. 

But those trades live on at theatres like Stratford Festival, where skilled artisans create everything from hooves and webbed feet for the creatures in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, to 19th century tongue-and-ties, crowns and, of course, 30 glittering top hats for A Chorus Line. 

Not everything is made in-house. With 13 shows and hundreds of costumes that would be impossible, said Connie Puetz, senior craftsperson in the festival's footwear department. 

"A basic tongue-and-tie shoe that doesn't have a lot of seams in it ... that kind of thing we build a lot and probably any one of us in here could build a pair of those in less than 20 hours. 

"If you're doing something complicated, it could take up to 40 hours."

To take an audio tour of her workshop, listen below.