Mayhem Shoes for the Dystopian Survivor

“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 […]

Ghillies (simple shoes) again

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 […]

The Vikings Used Comfortable Shoes

One of the original boots found in the Oseberg Burial Mound dating back to 834 AD. (Photo: skinnblogg.blogspot.no) A number of complete Viking Age shoes found in Scandinavia and England have the same characteristics. They are flexible, soft and mostly made of cattle hide, but also other kinds of leather was used. There are complete…

Huaraches!

There 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” […]

Love Huaraches?

Visit the Huarache Blog. A tradition I hope remains alive and vibrant.

Project: Mayhem Shoes

Irish Brogues and Other Simple Shoes

It’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 […]

Another Huarache Design

I like the closed, round toes on this one. From http://huaracheblog.wordpress.com/.

Le Cordonnier

18th century tools of the bootmaker’s trade. Click for the source.

The Shoemaker

A real treat from the Sifting the Past blog. It is worth checking out if you are interested in researching the past through images of the period just prior to mass industrialization. The Townsend’s have a couple excellent websites including an interesting 18th century cooking blog with videos. There is so much in this painting […]