This is our latest 'Get Inspired' collaboration with London-based artist @justcharliefrench☀️
'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. All the shoes made in this series (or variations of them) can be made by following the instructions in our Online Footwear Masterclass.
@justcharliefrench is an abstract artist based in London who creates beautiful artwork using mainly acrylic paint. Charlie paints mainly on canvas so painting on leather was going to be a little more difficult. We decided to send him a large piece of leather for him to use as his canvas and he well and truly worked his magic!
We had the idea of making a pair of derbys for Charlie with the toe caps and back straps made from his artwork - the shoes ended up looking SO cool and I’m really pleased with how they turned out.
Want to make your own pair of DIY derbys? Why not download our derby pattern to help you get started!
Here’s a little run through of how we made the shoes… 
Step 1 - Charlie sent us the abstract painted leather which we used to cut out a pair of toe caps and back straps to use when making the shoes.
Step 2 - Next, we stitched the uppers together using Charlie's painted pieces and a bright white leather to complete the derby shoe uppers.
Step 3 - We hammered in some eyelets and inserted the shoelaces. The laces were a little long so we trimmed them down and used plastic electrical piping to seal the ends (this process is SUPER satisfying).
Step 4 - Then, we lasted the linings, and added in a pair of toe puff stiffeners and counter stiffeners for extra sturdiness before lasting the upper layer. 
Step 5 - After that, we added cork bottom filler, attached the randing, and hammered on the soles, making sure to sand down the sides for a neat finish.
Step 6 - Finally, we added in a padded white insole sock to finish up Charlie's totally unique hand painted derby shoes.
Estimated time to make = 4 hours
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:
