Greetings one and all from Williamsburg, Brooklyn where we are doing our Intensive Shoe Making Class for the tenth, and sadly the last time at our fantastic venue on Grand St. Our wonderful host, friend and shoemaker, Jesse Moore is moving upstate and we are going to have to find an alternative space to do the class
The States is a big place and we are open to suggestions...
And so to the class. This year we have 6 intrepid students, all keen to learn the wonderful craft of handmade shoes
Day 1 saw us sharpening our knives, blocking the insoles and skiving toe puffs and stiffeners
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| The eager group starting their shoemaking journey |
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| Ivana skiving a stiffener |
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| Alisha blocking an insole |
Day2
After letting the insoles dry overnight, day 2 was spent trimming the insole, preparing the holdfast/feather and lasting the left shoe
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| Emily trimming an insole |
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| Abby marking the holdfast or feather |
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| Making holes in the holdfast |
Day 3
With one heel lasted the day before, the class lasted the second shoe at the heel and then tackled toe puffs.
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| Greg lasting a toe puff |
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| Toe puffs drying |
After drying the puffs, the group shaped them with a rasp and lasted the uppers over.
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| Marc rasping a toe puff |
Day 4
With the lasting complete, we moved on to preparing the welts; making threads; and welting - a hard process which they tackled with enthusiasm and a lot of success. Well done, guys.
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| To give themselves room to welt, the group spread out |
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| Welting |
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| Nearly done |
So we are a third of the way through and I must say this is a very able group. Well done guys and keep up the good work.
Next week we will show you more of their progress. Until then, happy shoemaking!
