I am SO excited for this collaboration with @candicegray_textiles for our ‘Get Inspired’ series! 'Get Inspired' is a series of shoe design collaborations with the intention to inspire our community to unlock different creative practices and apply them to shoes.
@candicegray_textiles is a UK Based Printed Textile Designer. I’ve been following Candice for a while and just really love how her florals make me feel (calm and happy)!
So when she agreed to do this collab with us by painting her florals onto a pair of shoes I was thrilled! I just love the idea of taking her process which is meant for textiles and applying them to shoes.. I knew they would be beautiful but the finished shoes totally exceeded my expectations :)
Candice worked with us to create a simple shoe shape and decided to paint the uppers and the heels with a green and yellow border which finished them off so beautifully. She painted on canvas with gouache and made sure to add a few layers of fixative, then we transformed them into a pair of shoes! Fun, right!
Throughout the past decade of teaching shoemaking we’ve experimented a lot with using different materials but when it comes to incorporating different crafts this is a relatively new thing for us.
I am so blown away with how this pair turned out and am so so so excited to share the other maker collabs we’ve got coming up too. I hope this project inspires you to think outside the box when creating your shoe designs, think about other hobbies or interests that you have and imagine ways you can incorporate them into your designs!
So you can check out Candice’s work I’ve linked her Instagram and Etsy shop below:
Candice Gray INSTAGRAM
Candice Gray ETSY
Candice Gray WEBSITE
Want to make your own pair of DIY low-cut mules? Why not download our mule pattern to help you get started!
learn shoemaking for yourself
I created a free 40-minute online course called 'Introduction to Shoemaking' to show how easy home shoemaking can be and to give you a little taste of what I Can Make Shoes is all about.
SIGN UP HERE for instant access.
If you are wanting to dive a little deeper into the world of home shoemaking, my online Footwear Masterclass is one of the most popular shoemaking courses in the world!! 🌍 (Casual brag! lol)
The course covers how to make shoes from scratch including heels, flats, boots, sneakers, sandals, and more. The thing that really sets this course apart from others is that it's specifically designed for total beginners and requires very little in the way of tools & equipment, there's even a bonus module on how to start your own shoe brand. To make getting started even easier, the course comes with a FREE Shoemaking Starter Kit, delivered to your door, anywhere in the world! 🌍
We are a tight community and regularly limit our intake to ensure the best experience for our students - so if our enrolment is closed I would recommend you sign up for our FREE Introduction to Shoemaking course while you wait.
Happy Shoemaking, Amanda xx
Pssssssst.... If you want to have a look at the shoes our students have been making, give us a follow on Instagram.
