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!