Musings of an Imperfect Man In Search of a Handmade Life
Here’s a simple shoe design that was made by our ancestors before there were shoe shops or Zappos. Much of the Europe population, both male and female wore a variation of this for many millenia, right up into the early 20th century. They are commonly associated with their Celtic cousins in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland […]
Read More Ghillies (simple shoes) againOriginally posted on UncommonCate:
Lovely warm and soft, these shoes (or perhaps slippers) began as an accidentally shrunken wool sweater. These poor, shrunken, often high quality wool sweaters end up in thrift and consignment stores on a regular basis. They also tend to cost next to nothing, so all in all they make perfect material…
Originally posted on Huarache Blog:
Nestled into the Sierra Norte mountains of Oaxaca is the small town of Yalalag. Yalalag is very precious town, not only for it’s strong Pre-Hispanic traditions, but also because like only a handful of other small towns in Mexico, most of the Yalalag population is still dedicated to the traditional…
Determined to get the pattern right once-and-for-all I have been slaving away on a new pair of shoes. As a matter of fact, I think these shoes are completely slave-labor-free. The leather upper and mid-sole are oak tanned leather (Hermann Oak), and the rubber soles were cut from SoleFlex sheeting. The laces were made from […]
Read More New High TopsHandmade and bespoke shoes have become an interest of mine over the years. Starting with moccasins and graduating to other variation led me to the realization that even with a great deal of leather and sewing experience, shoemaking is a complex and underestimated art in our culture. Of course, cheap shoes are readily available to […]
Read More Handmade shoe linksThe left, as it is, finished. A great learning project. The pattern making is slowly improving. Stitching down the sole. Turning the upper. Drying before finishing the upper. Next will be attaching the outer sole and heel.
Read More Finish the Left, Start the RightThe upper is turned, now attaching the sole. This is very much an experiment but so far it is coming along better than expected. It is a style from early modern shoe construction, with a lot of similarities to the archaeological finds from the Mary Rose but with a modernized upper. This style of construction […]
Read More Shoe In ProgressComing soon… Too busy sewing to post!
Read More Welted TurnshoeA few photos of the vardo in the desert at this year’s Winter Count. Along side the usual survival skills, I also taught another simple shoe class. Click the photo to see more uploaded images of the little vardo in action. This ghillie shoe class was busy again and I think we had about 16 […]
Read More Winter Count 2011Finally “finished” enough. Rubbed down with a “tea” of walnut juice, worn dry, and oiled. I already know the modifications needed for the next pair.
Read More Turnshoes Finished