These leather shoes sell for up to $600 a pair. The man who makes them is 96 years old
'I have a feeling that if I say I stop working for my bread, I will get sick. I'm happy to work.'
Twenty-five years ago, 15 Yacoub family members made up to 7000 pairs of women's shoes per week for the Diana Ferrari brand.
When Ferrari's manufacturing moved overseas, Milad became a builder and his siblings opened food businesses. 'Dad told me, 'please find me some work', and so I rang around and found Parigina,' Milad said.
It was a perfect fit for both parties.
Yacoub's career started at age 10, in the Lebanese city of Tripoli. He didn't go to school, and to prevent him getting up to mischief, his father found him a job assisting a shoemaker.
Two years later, Yacoub's mother bought him a secondhand Singer sewing machine and he opened his own shop making men's shoes. Yacoub soon employed four people and made shoes for soldiers.
Customers would come from villages outside Tripoli.
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Yacoub married Hawa in 1948 and they had six children. In 1974, the family migrated to Australia, with one married daughter staying behind.
After a year renting, Yacoub bought the Essendon house where he still lives.
For decades, Yacoub made shoes for brands like SPS, Aviv and Dormax, and then Diana Ferrari. He preferred to work from home and be close to his family, and so it is today.
Yacoub has 24 grandchildren and 40 great-grandchildren. Grandson Michael says Yacoub is often seen finishing shoes late at night.
Parkinson, whose father Peter owns Parigina Shoes and McCloud Shoes, is a fan of Yacoub's. 'He brings an incredible sense of care and craftsmanship to his work,' he says.
'He continues to contribute with precision and pride. His commitment and skill are nothing short of inspirational – and a testament to the enduring spirit of traditional artisanship.'
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To be launched under a new 'super luxury' sub-brand called Confidence Auto, development of a GWM supercar was confirmed by GWM chief technology officer Wu Huixiao earlier this year. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. The confirmation came with the bold promise it would be better than the Ferrari SF90, the Italian brand's first plug-in hybrid (PHEV) supercar. In Australia, the SF90 has a list price of $846,888, meaning a price tag of more than $1 million once on-road costs are added. Car News China reports the GWM supercar will be priced at $US140,000 ($A211,600), to be cheaper than both the SF90 and the $A398,975 Yangwang U9 electric supercar made by rival BYD. The flagship Yangwang – a brand under consideration for Australia – uses four electric motors to give the electric U9 a 960kW output with a 2.36-second 0-100km/h claim and top speed of 309km/h. 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Those plans have been put on hold given the import tariffs introduced on Chinese-made vehicles by US President Donald Trump. While GWM has previously suggested the engine's physical dimensions ruled it out for the supercar, it could be repurposed given the idling of the V8 US truck project. GWM International vice-president James Yang told Australia media in Shanghai earlier this year the new V8 was under consideration for several models to be sold in China and export markets, including Australia. "For the past three-four years we have been working on this V8, including lab as well as real-world testing," said Mr Wang. Mr Wang also suggested the V8 is under consideration for GWM models, including the Tank 300 off-roader. MORE: GWM reveals its first V8 – and the hardcore Tank 300 Hooke off-roader MORE: Inside Chinese GWM's plan to take on American pickups… potentially even in the US Content originally sourced from:
