Fluevog In Store Event

If you are looking to talk to a real-live shoe designer, check this out. I'll be there tomorrow. I'm also working on a low slipper inspired boots for guys. I'll post a few picts as they come. Here are my initial sketches.




Oh, and since I've recently started a company with a bunch of great folks, I'm also blogging here.

Modular Experiments

Sorry, I've been gone a while. I've been starting a business, so I'm pretty busy these days. However, I got an interesting email from a guy who has been thinking about the modular shoe stuff. I'd done quite a few experiments with that while I was in grad school. You can take a look at some of the explorations here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8170698@N06/sets/72157608446471342/

A few of my favorite things....

Shoes and User-Generated Design.


http://www.ryzwear.com/

Check it out.

Shoe Books

I found this site a while back. They had an out-of-print book, Pattern Cutter's Handbook". Patterns are so fascinating and complex. The shift from three dimensions, to two dimensions, then back to three. It's not cheap, $78, but probably well worth it in the time you'll save.

You can get the book here.

Prototypes Prototypes (and suppliers)

I love getting emails from shoe makers. And to be fair, I mean, those of you that make shoes, think about making shoes, make ugly shoes, etc. So far, professional shoe makers have contacted me.

This email that I got recently made me realize how necessary prototyping is to the process of shoe making.

I've been at square one for a while now, as I have had no success in finding anyone that can help me to produce my own shoe. I'm very new, as I'm not from the industry. Looking for help with design, manufacturer of prototypes, and supplies. It's a lot, I know...but I've just been ripping old pairs up and piecing them together how I see it in my mind. Very rough way to start but It's all I have at the moment in a struggle to create goal. Any advice on where to go from here???


One of the things that really helped me when I started was my ability to just do stuff that sucked. I mean, really bad, ugly, horrible looking contraptions that you would never let see the light of day. I can't stress how valuable it is to be able to make three pairs of shoes in an hour. It's a good way to get the dumb ideas out. And it'll cost you about 5 bucks. I learned a technique from Gaza Bowen that involved packing tape.


Suppliers
Supplies are the easiest. I use a place in South San Francisco. But here's a good list of Shoe Repair Suppliers. If you can visit the place, all the better. I rarely knew the names of the parts I needed.
http://www.ssia.info/industry/wholesalers.asp

Manufacturers
Finding a manufacturer for the Prototypes may be a little more expensive. But I'd start prototyping in Felt. Sew it on a normal sewing machine until you work out some of the pattern issues. Once you have a good pattern, you could bring it to a shoe repair shop and see if they'd sew it for you. I'm sure they'll be a little perplexed. Really, all you'll need them for is their access to an industrial machine.

If you are lucky to live near a shoe maker, you could also approach them.

I've often been intimidated by shoe makers though. You might be more of a bother to them, whereas to the shoe repair guy, you represent business.

Once you've got the prototype down, you could give that to a manufacturer. But you can jump right to drawing stage. I know that a lot of designers send hand drawings to factories in China. I was surprised to find the solution so low tech. I don't know any contacts off hand in China, but I'm sure I am only a few degrees of separation. If that's something you are interested in, let me know.

On the Cheap
Another thing I'd recommend is the Syran wrap shoe. It's a very quick way to prototype shapes. And then you can cut out parts, retape, and try again.

You can also find links to the photos here. Almost all of these shoes were completed in less than an hour. Some in less than 15 minutes.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8170698@N06/sets/72157606679535332/

Another great resource

I had checked out this book early on and forgot about it until just recently when Sharon, the author, emailed me. Get the book, if you can since she does a great job of explaining a lot of the basics of shoemaking. Most of the shoes are very simple, but it's a wonderful way to get your feet wet.

And, Sharon's website is here. There's a lot of great stuff there as well.
http://simpleshoemaking.com/index.htm

Podcast from Craft

Craft now has a quick podcast posted from the presentation I did at Maker Faire. It's an overview of the process that I detailed in that talk.

By the way, the people at Craft are really nice.

If I had to imagine a perfect shoe...

I promise I won't write much about shoe companies here, but this one must get a mention. Trippen. Beautiful. The site has horrible UI, but it's worth fighting through it.

I found these guys while working on my own shoe project. A woman (whose name I forget) turned me on to them. It was as if I'd seen where I would have taken shoes, if I had been at it for years. No other company I've seen comes as close to the sculptural quality of footwear. To me, they are so provocative that I wonder, "how do they stay in business?" No, I don't have much faith in people's taste.

Saving Winter Boots, part2

A: Here's what I would recommend if you don't want to try to get the zipper professionally.

It is just a matter of sewing on a wrap around piece for the boot. I've uploaded some diagrams on the my Flickr site.

1. I'd make a test pattern in denim or felt to test the size and then figure out the placement of the velcro.

2. Then, cut a pattern in leather or wool or some good waterproof material. Sew the velcro on.

I'd recommend getting some waxed thread and a large needle.

3. Sew along the current seam on the front side of the zipper and a little bit below the zipper parallel with the sole. Be careful here with your stitches since it's a very sensitive part of the foot. The less the stitches stick out the more comfortable you'll be.

I think that should work.

If you do it, definitely send me pictures, I'd love to see how it turns out.

Saving Winter Boots

Q: These are pictures of one of my old winter boots. The zipper broke this year, and I wanted to know if there was a way I could make a new pair out of my old ones. The fabric has really gone through a lot since it's almost always snowing where I live. Also, the bottoms are worn out a little.

I was wondering if there was anything I could do to reuse these boots. Thanks!

A: Get some Barge All Purpose Cement and some outer rubber soles. (http://www.boot.com/bsoles.htm)
All you need to do is clean and sand the soles for your boots. Apply a layer of the cement to your soles and to the bottom of the new soles.

Once the cement has dried, carefully attach them. The cement is very strong, but because of that, you want to make sure that you don't misalign the sole when you are attaching it.

In terms of the zipper, There's a few options. First, you could see if a cobbler or luggage repair shop cold repair it. If that's not an option, I have some ideas. I'll get back to you in a few days. If you don't hear from me, send me an email.

Counters

Q: I just became interested in making shoes a few months ago and bought a book called How to Make Your Own Shoes by Mary Wales Loomis. The book did provide some basic info about shoe parts and tools, but it was catered to cloth pumps and I wanted to make leather boots. So basically I decided to wing it, balancing some of the info and advice in the book with what I found in some of my own boots when I cut them up. I've definitely made a lot of mistakes along the way, but one major confusing issue for me is that of counters. I went to a shoe supply place here in NY and they sold me some counters that are thick plastic and need to be heated in order to be used. A friend who took a class in shoemaking years ago told me that this type of counter requires using some sort of machinery to shave it down to the right size. I felt really confused and overwhelmed by this so tried to make my own counters. The book I had suggested making them with 3 layers of buckram molded over the heel. I tried this, but the results were sort of disheartening. I finally tried using some card stock/board that i bought at an art supply store and this seemed to work pretty well. Will the cardboard work or is it too weak? Do you have any suggestions for counters?

A: Counters are tough. They have to deal with two very different parts of the foot. The bottom of the heel which is brutal, and the inner heel which is very sensitive.

I tried to make my own at first as well. With very little success. I formed vegetable tanned leather over a last. While it was plenty sturdy, it was like stepping into a clamp. When I took a class with Gaza Bowen, she had us use that plastic/melting method. She said that before they found this material that it used to take a half day or more to make the counters, rather than a half hour. I wonder if it's the same material that was recommended to you, if it's the same as the stuff you got in New York, I'd love to know the name of it.

As far as I know, you won't need any special tools. You do need to shave it down at the edges, but you can do that with a belt sander or sand paper. You just want to make sure that, like the leather, it doesn't have a lip. Once you've got a smooth edge, you just put this material in the oven at about 225º until it becomes soft. It should be just hot enough that you can hold it for a second, but not so melted that you will burn yourself. You'll be able to see it wilt slightly on the oven rack. Then you need to glue it to the inside of the lining. The counter will then be sandwiched between the lining and the upper. I have more pictures of this process on the flickr page.

I think card-stock or illustration board may work, but I would sandwich it in between fabric layers with contact cement between all of the layers. Often the combination of layers and the contact cement will create quite a bit of strength. You may also want to insert a bit of padding, maybe just a layer of leather over the counter, but under the lining.

The one thing I'd try to do though is test it many times, maybe even see if you could insert this kind of counter into an old pair of shoes and walk with it. Boots are such an intense investment in time and effort that I'd hate to see them rendered unwearable if a certain method didn't work.

There's also a great book that has some good photography for shoes and an explanation of the process. It didn't help me with counters, but it's a great reference.
http://www.amazon.com/Handmade-Shoes-Men-Lasz-Vass/dp/3895089281

Q: The counter material I got looks a little different - it came in pre-cut shapes to use on the heel. When I heat it and try to smooth it over the heal I get lots of bumps and stuff. So I guess I have to keep practicing this and trying to sand it down better afterward. I hadn't realized that it was supposed to be glued too. Are you applying glue and then sticking the hot counter right on top of the wet glue? Or gluing after you've already sort of molded the counter?

Also I really enjoyed seeing the photos of your process - it answered some more questions. If you have any other photos of the shoemaking process it would be great to see more on flickr!

A: Cool, yeah, I think the photos are so much more helpful than an explanation. I'm trying to figure out how to organize it in a way that makes sense, but is also fast to do.

In terms of the gluing, I did it with contact cement. A layer on the blue mystery material and a layer on the lining of the shoe. (Make sure you put the glue layer face up in the oven)

Once the Mystery material is heated, you then stick the mystery material to the lining and hammer it smooth.

That said, it's kind of a funky process. I bet there's a better way to do it.

How this works.

Hi there. I've been thinking about the best way to spread information about shoe-making and I certainly don't want to refresh a website on a daily basis. So for now Boot y Amor will be a bit of a placeholder until it's more clear what tools will best enable us to spread shoemaking. 

I've been thrilled to get some shoe-related inquiries from some folks after Maker Faire and the Craft Article. Until now, I've been responding through email. But everyone's shoe-related interests and needs are interesting enough that I thought we could all benefit from seeing what everyone else is doing, wondering, etc. So moving forward, it makes more sense for me to post your shoe questions here on the blog. Whenever you see a "Q:"  it will refer to a question I've received about shoe making from emails or conversations. The "A:" will be my response.  Eventually, I'm sure you'll get a sense of the kinds of information I need to fully answer your questions, but you may also find that someone else had the same challenge. At any rate, thanks for the interest.

How do I make soles?

Q: Where can I find or how can I make fashionable shoe soles? I want to make a pair of shoes, but I don't want to tear apart the shoes I have. The pair I want to try and make are platform wedges. Thanks!!

A: It depends on what kind of soles you want to make? Men's or women's? In order to make soles, you'll really need a last. Do you have one?

Q: No I don't have a last and I want to make womens shoes, but possibly some mens too.

A: You can make your own lasts or purchase them. Making lasts is a total art form. I've made my own, but I wasn't very successful. You can view the process photos here. This website has lasts for sale and a great DVD for how to make lasts. I have the DVD, but I haven't yet made lasts using this method.
http://www.walrusshoe.com/books_home.htm
The website isn't very user-friendly, but the people at Walrus Shoe are really wonderful. I called them when I ordered the last making DVD and they were so friendly. They knew Gaza Bowen, who taught me how to make shoes. Gaza was a bit of a legend in the shoe circles. I feel so lucky to have met her.