Now, don't flip out. I want you to be calm. Ok? Good. Because I have something to tell you. Ready?:
I MADE SHOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously. One week ago, I made some shoes. Real shoes like shoes that you could buy in a shop. Except you can't buy these in a shop. Because I made them and they are unique. I was able to choose the colours and (with time considered) the style. They are heavily inspired by a pair I saw on the ASOS website which looked comfortable, cute and relatively simple to make, but ultimately they are one of a kind.
So how did this incredible event come to pass? Let me explain. More than once on this blog I've mentioned my recurring obsession with making footwear. I guess through my desire to be 'wardrobe self-sufficient', making footwear became like some sort of handmade holy grail. I've got files of images and website links saved all containing clues as to how I might go about creating my own footwear. But I had yet to attempt to make anything because I couldn't see how anything I would be able to make would be either wearable or not looking like something belonging to a viking! Or like I'd wandered outside in my slippers.
Well, a very lovely lady called Emily, who reads my blog and must have seen my online longings for self-made footwear, emailed me offering me her assistance to make my dream become a reality! You see Emily studied cordwainery in both her native Australia and in London, and currently works for a theatrical footwear makers.
Lucky for us all,
Emily has a wonderful blog where she documents the truly amazing footwear she and her colleagues create for stage and film. And more recently her ventures into sewing. And even luckier for us, she has signed up for Me-Made-May '12! I'll wager that she'll be the only participants who regular wears hand-crafted footwear as part of the challenge. I can't wait to see her documentation photos from the month.
So, keeping in mind how cool it'd be to be able to wear my sandals (weather permitting) during Me-Made-May, we consulted our diaries and hooked up in London last weekend for the shoemaking sesh. I'm not going to explain the process because it took a whole day and I've probably forgotten some of the stages, but I've more or less documented some of it plus some glimpses from the fascinating workshop. The day was soooo interesting, seriously one of the enjoyable days of my life! A HUGE thank you to Emily is in order for donating a chunk of her spare time and much patience to someone she didn't previously know to help make them VERY happy!
