Since we launched our online courses on home shoemaking we have received lots of great questions about sewing machines. In this post we hope to put to rest some of your questions and point you in the right direction so that you can start your shoemaking journey from home. DO YOU NEED A SEWING MACHINE…(Read More)
The ‘topline’ of a shoe is any visible design line of the style. Just like dressmaking the toplines of shoes can be stitched in an array of different ways to create a different look or feel. In the video below i’ll introduce you to a few of the most popular topline treatments in shoes…(Read More)
There are lots of different methods in which shoes are constructed, but the most popular method is called ‘cement or cemented construction’. This method is the easiest and most accessible shoemaking construction and will likely be the method used for many of the shoes you own. The cemented construction – in a nutshell – is…(Read More)
INSOCKS
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Click on the image below to watch a short video on insocks. Insocks or insole socks are one of the final touches to making a pair of shoes and are really important for making sure your shoes are comfortable, look great and fit well. ‘Insocks’ often get mistaken for ‘insoles’ but in the shoemaking world…(Read More)
As we head towards our 10th birthday, that’s right tenth! we want to celebrate our amazing community of shoemakers. Far from hiding what happens at our London and New York studios we’re opening up the doors so that you can get to know our teachers, makers, students, friends and inspirations. To kick things…(Read More)
As more new mums open up about the post baby blues, we wanted to do something this UK Mother’s Day for the mummas who take a bit longer to get back on their feet. So we created a baby shoe-making kit that uses the art of craft-making to empower women through periods…(Read More)
This was such a special trip for me, I was the maid of honor at my bestie’s wedding in the south of Italy and she happens to be a shoemaker as well so it was like a mini-reunion with friends from the Brooklyn Shoe Space in New York. As soon as Tom caught…(Read More)
Megha travelled all the way from India to join our 10 day Mastering Footwear course, upon completion she promptly returned to India to start up her own shoe brand, Buna Pelle. A textile designer by profession, Megha was always fascinated with the accessories department and found herself always in the workshop tinkering with the machines…(Read More)
Caroline’s two big loves are shoes and deserts (Just look at her facebook page!). She has a particular interest in comfortable shoes, specifically to aid people who have bunions. Caroline was one of my first students to start her own brand (Caroline Macaron), she attended the 3 day shoe making course ‘Start your future…(Read More)
Having spent Christmas with my family in Bali this year, I thought I would take the opportunity to see what the city had to offer (in shoemaking that is). I have to admit I wasn’t really wearing shoes for most of the trip, so I was very pleased to discover that Bali has a…(Read More)
Best of 2017
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What a year! We ran a total of 81 workshops with more than 270 students from all over the world. A record breaking 340 pairs of shoes were all hand made in our little studio in Bethnal Green. Here is a round up of my top 10 favourite pairs made in 2017. This pair were…(Read More)
Devika joined our 10 day ‘Mastering Footwear’ course back in 2014, and before long she was open for business! She started her shoe brand Devika Bharadwaj in 2015, an eponymous shoe label that offers luxurious, handcrafted shoes for the fashion-conscious women of India. Headquartered in her home, Mumbai, her products are designed, sourced and…(Read More)
I have my friend Kate to thank for this one. She and I have been pals since we were 13 and happen to share the same shoe size, so we’ve always bonded over shoes! Kate and her boyfriend had been traveling through Guatemala earlier in the year and happened upon the small town of…(Read More)
Mariam first joined our 3 day ‘Start your future in footwear’ course back in 2012, since then she has devoted herself to growing her shoe empire! She started her shoe brand Stratford Street Shoes, inspired from her time in London, and now she produces hand made shoes soulfully designed and handcrafted in her home, Pakistan…(Read More)
Lola first joined our 10 day ‘Mastering Footwear’ course last year and loved it! She decided then and there that she was going to quit her corporate job and start her own shoe line. Staying true to her heritage, Lola Domecq shoes are designed in London and made in Spain by some of the most…(Read More)
I am so super excited about this – for all of you who can’t make in to our courses in person, we have launched our own online courses. Each digital course comes as a downloadable PDF so you can save it to your device and refer back to it at any time you feel like…(Read More)
A trip to New York wouldn’t be the same without visiting our friends at Brooklyn Shoe Space. My shoe buddy Elizabeth Dunn introduced me to Keiko (founder of BKSS) when she moved to New York a few years back and we’ve all kept in touch ever since. Brooklyn Shoe Space is a place…(Read More)
These traditional Japanese geta soles came from a trip I took to Thailand last year so I have been waiting to do something super fun with them. I decided this would be a perfect project for our new intern @carlottawho, so she took pen to paper and started brainstorming… We learned that Traditional Japanese footwear…(Read More)