When it comes to the field of public relations, there are times when you find yourself assisting media on-site while they interview your respective clients or shoot photos of accompanying scenery. In these instances, you get to share the same experience the reporter and photographer are both getting – a firsthand one!
Recently, Team Paula arranged a tour for the Boston division of the Associated Press at New Balance’s Brighton-based factory. Donning goggles and entering a productive hub of activity, AP reporter Phil Marcelo and accompanying photographer Stephan Savoia learned the basics of military sneaker assembly from a NB factory leader. As workers in bright New Balance T-shirts spread cement over shoe soles under fluorescent lights, and sirens went off to indicate stages of completion, I decided to let my camera capture the process as well.
The environment at New Balance is truly a colorful one. Add machinery and assembly lines into the mix and it becomes a unique world of production and efficiency. Kind of like Willy Wonka’s factory – if it specialized in footwear.
Team Paula has spent the previous months engaging media nationwide, through our PR efforts, about the importance of American-made military sneakers and shoes on behalf of New Balance. Seeing these shoe components made before our very eyes highlights the domestic nature of an item many wear in their daily lives. It takes many hands to assemble something so appreciated by the masses.
The Associated Press ran its story, “Military recruits still not using American-made sneakers,” on Friday, July 3rd to coincide with the July 4th holiday. Hopefully my photographs provide a good fit – pun intended – for this blog!
-Ira Kantor, Team Paula
Photos by Ira Kantor
