Less is More

When I meet people, I always look at their shoes - I believe it says a lot about someone, and not only their taste in footwear!

This is the first pair of men's shoes that I have made, so I wanted to design a pair that I find most attractive on a man - simple yet classic. I have noticed that men in Australia are becoming more interested, even fussy when it comes to footwear - which is great! A love for well made shoes shouldn't only be shared between women, but men too.  

I chose an Oxford style shoe, using a brown tanned leather with a wax finish. To give it an edge, I opted without laces. For this reason, elastic inside the shoe needs to be attached to hold the foot in. I also decided to make my own leather stack heel which has a nice natural finish when stained. Here is the step by step process of my first men's pair. I hope you like them.

Grey is the new Green

Recyclable products are becoming more and more popular and even fashionable, not only in Australia but all over the world. Many aspiring and successful designers are looking towards greener ways of creating their products. The material I have chosen is called EchoPanel.

Little Derby

Toddler shoes... So little, so cute, so fun, so colourful! Oh I couldn't resist and had to make my first pair! I have always wanted to make a pair of kid's shoes so I decided to make a pair of derby kicks! It is even more challenging making little people footwear because one tiny mistake can be very obvious. Derby or Gibson style footwear has evolved so much over the years, so I wanted to test myself and try and create a pair that are stylish but also have a casual edge to them.

I hope you like them! But more importantly, I hope the little ones like the look of these!

Australian Made

I came home from Italy filled with new ideas and a better understanding in how to design and make shoes. Although I learnt a lot overseas, it wasn't enough. The teachers in Italy kept telling me to stay for the three year course so I could get a better understanding of the shoe design and making process - if only my bank account agreed!

A month after I returned, I jumped straight back in to the industry, after being accepted into a 12 month Custom Made Footwear Certificate at TafeSA. Within the first four weeks I completed my first pair. I tried my best to capture the process of these shoes to share with you.

Made in Italy

Market Research 

It is important to find a niche market or field that you are interested in when designing your own shoe collection. In this course I was overwhelmed by the different styles of footwear in Italy, from the vintage stores to the high end brands. There was one style I fell in love with in the Celíne window one morning. It is simple yet classy and very comfortable. I wanted to see if I could create my own version. 

Céline

Bella Italia

For three months I moved to Florence to study Orientation in Shoe Techniques at Polimoda, an international institute of fashion design and marketing.

The culture in Italy is so different to Australia, but I immediately fell in love with the food, the fashion, the architecture, and most importantly the language. I would try and take a different route each day to class to discover something new. I even spotted a sign - 'scarpe' meaning shoes in Italian. I opened the door to find an Italian man sitting on a stool hammering away at a new pair of red leather shoes. I had to take a picture!

The course covered areas in drawing techniques, pattern making, fashion history, CAD, leather technology and shoe making. There were eight students in my class from all over the world – and we still keep in contact today.

My First Pair

This is where it all started; a short course in shoe making at TafeSA in Adelaide. It was a lot of fun! If you want to get a taste in shoe making, this course is perfect. 

The teacher demonstrates from start to finish, the steps in shoe making for a simple ballet flat style shoe. It's really beneficial if you are looking to go further in the shoe industry, and since I couldn't get enough of it, as soon as my shoes were complete, I looked around at other courses to better my skills. This lead to my trip to Italy.