Musings of an Imperfect Man In Search of a Handmade Life
I was looking up a link for someone and rediscovered the video today showing how to make tough and durable sandals from discarded tires. This style is well-known in Southeast Asia, particularly in poorer areas. If you are interested in sandal-making, you can hardly go wrong with this design if you have access to old […]
Read More Dép lốp or “Ho Chi Min” Sandals“The first rule of Project Mayhem is that you do not ask questions…” this may be my new teaching mantra I am considering calling my custom footwear “Mayhem Shoes” (at least until Chuck Palahniuk’s space monkey lawyers make me stop). I teach a couple classes about low-tech shoemaking a few times per year in the […]
Read More Mayhem Shoes for the Dystopian SurvivorHere’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) againThere are still Huaraches north of old Mexico. As I prepare to resole my huaraches I thought it might be good to look back on them as a very viable hand-made shoe. For a long time while searching for huarache construction techniques, I could only find the simplest tire sandals and many links to “barefoot” […]
Read More Huaraches!I have come across these little benches for quite some time and I find them fascinating. I even started a folder in my image library for them. A quick search around the web finds many of these in auction houses, on Ebay, Craigslist, and elsewhere, generally at exorbitant prices. It appears they generally end their […]
Read More Cobbler’s Workbenches“The first rule of Project Mayhem is that you do not ask questions…” this may be my new teaching mantra I am considering calling my custom footwear “Mayhem Shoes” (at least until Chuck Palahniuk’s space monkey lawyers make me stop). I teach a couple classes about low-tech shoemaking a few times per year in the […]
Read More Project: Mayhem ShoesOriginally posted on Huarache Blog:
Tuxpan in Southern Jalisco is a small town well known for its Tacos “Tuxpenos” and less known for its unique Mid-Cut Huarache style. That being nowadays said their is so little demand for the Tuxpan Huarache “Tejido con Talonera Alta” that it can only be made on to order by…
Originally posted on Huarache Blog:
What a beautifully shot movie about 80 year old Huarachero Nicolás Lizares. For more detailed photographs check out a previous post titled Nicolás Lizares – Maker of Fine Huaraches from Tapalpa, Jalisco
One of the many things taught at Winter Count this year was shoe making in the form of carbatina or ghillies. These are relatively simple shoes notable for their one piece construction and generally involve very little sewing. I am interested in how things are learned and for me, the process is more important than […]
Read More Ghillie Making at Winter Count 2014It’s time for new shoes. After a soon-to-be-finished commission for a leather satchel, I intend to dive into a brogue-making project in the style of 19th century Ireland. This basic design certainly dates back much further than this as shown by archaeological finds in bogs throughout Europe. Don’t confuse these brogues with the more modern […]
Read More Irish Brogues and Other Simple Shoes