Next Shoe Making Venture

Well its certainly been a while since my last entry. I've been thinking about shoe making a lot but alas no time, short wintery days,  and still haven't got a shoe last.......
Good news though tomorrow I'm starting another short shoe making course at RMIT. Really looking forward to it. Wonder what sort of shoes I'll make this time.....
Also planning on taking a trip to the Sunshine Coast to do a 4 day workshop with Pendragon Shoes- perhaps I'll make some magical pixie boots!
More soon....

Woo hoo- a lucky dip of leather tools

Just got this wonderful mixture of old tools on ebay. There's also a plough gauge, some leather, waxed threads and whole stack of punches for embossing leather.  It should all arrive in the not too distant future......

Also got a really great pair of shoe lasts so shoe-making will be starting again soon..

Recycle, recreate, risk a bit of whimsy! 

Shoemaking Class 3

Finished my last shoe making class - but not my shoes. They still need some work but hey they do look shoe-ish and for a first attempt I think they're ok. All I need now is a sewing awl, a pair of shoe lasts, glues,  leather shears, scissors, thread, leather needles, leather, not to mention all the other bits and pieces- oh yes and I have to get that shoe making book!
I love shoe making! Can't wait till the second course in September. Hopefully I'll make a few more turn shoes between now and then and my shoe making skills will be a bit better...

Can't wait to finish this pair off and start another pair.... 


Recycle, recreate, risk a bit of whimsy!

Craftsmanship

Tim Skyrme lasting a shoe by hand, part 1

This a wonderful video of Tim Skyrme lasting a shoe by hand. Check out his website at the link below http://www.shoemakingbook.com/. 

Tim has more videos and lots of info about shoe making schools around the world. He also has a book (Bespoke Shoemaking) which will be on my bookshelf soon....

Shoe Making Class 2!

Great class! Here's some shots of my first pair of shoes. One more week to go and I should be able to wear them woo hoo!

All sewed up!

Inside out with the heel lining and some binding to stop the shoes from stretching

Inside out on the last- hand sewn to the sole

Decorative fancies for the finished shoe

Got to get back to some more sewing........

Recycle, recreate, risk a bit of whimsy

Shoe Making Class 1 !

My first shoe-making class was on Saturday-  It was held at the Council of Adult Education in Degraves St in Melbourne. Our teacher, Brendan Dwyer, has been in the biz for over 20 years. 
We chatted about the types of shoes we could make during the course and chose which shoes to attempt during the rest of the sessions.  Options included various sandals (Brendan said these were the easiest option),  happy camper shoes, apache moccasins, moccasins and turn shoes. The turn shoe is supposed to be the most difficult. (Brendan said that the students who choose this type will be doing the most cursing).
Thought I'd try the turn shoe..... will try not to curse!
So what were the highlights:
Brendan's wonderful historical snippets- did you know that in the late 15th century pointed shoes were in for male fashionistas. The King had the longest points and common folk were banned from having shoes with longer points than the Kings- those who did were fined.........The Pope wasn't so keen on these pointed shoes and declared that they were lascivious, evil shoes that threatened the moral fabric of society... lol
Measuring feet- the shoes and socks were off and those who had not prepared their toes for a public viewing were exposed.... made me think, when you buy a pair of factory produced shoes these days the last thing a retailer would do is touch your feet..... industrialization, globalization- we've been incrementally accepting less humanity in our economic transactions for some time.... what a delight it is to embark on making shoes by hand for people
Brendan's workshop- what a wonderful place- full of rare items, hundreds of wooden shoe lasts, strange old machines, quirky shoes, pieces of leather and old tools... the perfect place for a one in a million craftsman - Did you know that statistically speaking that's how many shoe makers are left- 1 for every million people?
Well I've been practicing taking foot measurements and making sure that my toes are spiffy for the next class.... Stay tuned for class two and some pictures of my progress



Recycle, recreate, risk a bit of whimsy

Repurposing

My best friend reminded me that long ago (about 25 years I reckon) I expressed a desire to learn to become a shoemaker. Think I ended up with a 100% frozen fruit icecream stall at a community market..... Needless to say I didn't learn to make shoes and the frozen fruit ice cream stall didn't make it through the winter....... Anyway since being reminded of my long lost dream I've been on a journey planning to learn to make shoes and escape from my humdrum office job.


Progress has been a bit slow......Shoe making courses are few and far between.  After missing out on a place earlier this year, I was starting to think it was a silly idea but I found and enrolled in a course which starts on the 1st May. (Anybody interested and living in Melbourne Australia-try RMIT or the Council for Adult Education)


By the end of the course I will have made my first pair of shoes and I'll have some foundations for my whimsical shoe business 


In the meantime (while I keep doing my day job) ...... thought I'd set up this blog to pass on what I learn about repurposing, shoe making and creating a niche business recycling materials to make original shoes....


Recycle, recreate, risk a bit of whimsy

A little bit of history……

Cordwainers n Cobblers

A little bit of research about the history of shoe making will reveal that cordwainer was the preferred term for professional shoemakers.

Apparently it’s based on a French word, cordonnier, which alludes to the Spanish town of Cordoba, which in about the 12^th century, was the home of fine leather. 12^th century Frenchman referred to fine leather as cordouan however this was changed to cordwain in English speaking countries. 

Anyway turns out that these ancient shoemakers used the fine leather from Cordoba to create their wares and as a result became known as Cordwainers.

What about cobblers? Well cobblers don’t have quite the same claim to fame. In fact their shoemaking work was limited to shoe repairs and shoe reconstruction (ah ha the first shoe recyclers!).

So cobblers worked with old (and probably a bit stinky!) leather while cordwainers worked with new leather.

Mmm where does that leave me? I’m an aspiring cordwainer with the heart of a recycling cobbler…

Snippet: An Iraqi journalist pitched a couple of shoes at US President George W. Bush in 2008 (nearly got him in the head) and rival cobblers across the Middle East claimed the credit for making the shoes

Looks like its three stars for the cobblers from me…..


Recycle, Recreate, Risk a bit of Whimsy

Shoemaking dreaming

Thought I'd write this blog,  for other wanabee escape artists who dream of a more creative life and freedom from the 9 to 5 drudge.  

Step 1 to escape my humdrum office life -

Booked my shoe making course- 

Dream: Whimsical shoes will pay my mortgage! 

Making hand made shoes might not be everybody's cup of tea - hey it might not even be mine...We shall see- my course starts soon and my dreams are big.

Shoe makers were apparently quite a radical bunch.....

So keep an eye on this blog for historical snippets about the cordwainers and the cobblers  and the progress of an aspiring shoe maker...

Recycle, recreate.... risk a bit of whimsy!