Top aussie makers have been having trouble getting high quality boxcalf, they say it is thick and very dry and not suitable for high quality shoos. They tell me that they are using Roo leather instead and that it makes high quality footwear uppers.

l'm hoping to see another maker tommorrow, pics will be coming. The blog will be coming; i'm writing the material but l will need to edit it about 10 times over a period of months before l post the text online (i'm not a natural writer). Some exciting stuff to come.

Last edited by The_Shooman (2010-04-14 00:26:16)

Last edited by The_Shooman (2010-04-27 07:59:43)

l've had a really long think about what i'm going to do in regards to shoemaking. l was seriously considering giving everything up and trying for an apprenticeship with Cleverley, but after agonising over it for two months l have decided l would be giving up far too much of a lifestyle for that to become a reality, l want to go to Cleverley sooo freakin badly, but l must be realistic.

l'm going to ask Alex at Manhatten shoes to teach me lasting/pattern making etc and i'll beg John to teach me handwelting and stitching on soles by hand. But at the same time, l don't want to waste their time, l really need to study my text books very very carefully and be fully prepared for when they teach me. One of the first things l will need is to have shoemaking tools made, some old fellas have even offered me some tools to get started.

l'd like to be the guy who makes handmade shoos in his spare time, keep the old skills alive, maybe even teach casually at college to ensure the old skills are passed on. lt has to be done.

Another thing which l will need to do is learn lastmaking before everything goes offshore. That's going to be a hard skill to learn; Bruce Miller and George Keoff's books/DVD's are my only hope. Gotta do it now, time is running out. No-one in Australia can do the whole shoemaking process anymore, l wanna be that guy.

Last edited by The_Shooman (2010-05-12 07:00:12)

l gave him a call to mention making my last slightly bigger to allow for my expanding feet during the day/evening, so he knows i'm around and kicking. l don't even think he has started yet. l'll wait another month and see how it's going. The bespoke process is stressing me out alittle (such an involved process), so much can go wrong when having multilple parties involved.

Another thing that which is stressing me out is trying to find good quality materials for other shoo projects.

Last edited by The_Shooman (2010-05-12 07:11:51)

Last edited by g- (2010-05-12 06:33:45)

Last edited by The_Shooman (2010-05-12 07:46:06)