Jon Gray the shoemaker came to Ontario and I got a pair of... - Page 3

I haven't heard from him since he confirmed an Ottawa visit (but not in detail). He said he won't know his firm schedule until after he's reached Ontario. I'll try to contact him.

I just heard from Jon. He had been teaching for a week at a school in Ontario where it was difficult for him to get online. He said he would get a firm date for Ottawa in a day or two. I'm hoping to get more information on the rest of his itinerary as well.

Still no updates from Jon yet. No idea what's keeping him. I hope Odd has had better luck.

To keep things going in the meantime...

The shoes I have in mind are austerity brogues in dark brown with round toes. Are there stylistic choices that I should avoid, and things they must have?

By round toes, I mean toes that aren't particularly pointy. I do want the shoes to be somewhat refined--sort of like EG's 202 last (which some members here think is blobby). I like the general look of G&G's Connaught, but not the shape of the toe.

As for the colour, I'm leaning towards dark oak right now. Is there a shade of dark brown that SF members like in particular?

Just reformatted the original post as the move to the new system completely messed it up.

Anyway, I got a call from Jon Gray today and he confirmed that he will be in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 26th. He plans to hold a shoe clinic at E.R. Fisher at 5 p.m.

I'll ask, but you might get a quicker response asking Odd I/O. I think he arranged to meet with Jon Gray, so he would know better than I.

As for the Ottawa, people can just drop by E.R. Fisher that day around 5 p.m. I'm the only one who's ordering a pair for sure, I think, but can't hurt to have a dozen people showing up.

Can I expect you to show up on Tuesday, July 26th at five, Geoff? You and I might be the only ones to meet Jon.

I believe Odd I/O met up with Jon on Wednesday and things worked out well.

I don't plan on taking pictures next week, but I do plan to post pictures of the shoes as things progress.

Well, I wound up being the only customer to meet Jon. Was hoping for a better turnout.

However, it did mean that the store's owners and I became the tiny audience of Jon's presentation. The show-and-tell and my own consultation took about two hours total. It was interesting and enjoyable.

I wound up picking a dark brown, chrome-tanned smooth French calf leather for my austerity brogue. The linings will be English kip. The pattern itself will be the same as the austerity brogue shown on Jon's web site, but the toe will be rounder--what Jon called an "almond toe."

I believe Jon gets some of his upper leathers through this supplier. The swatches have their label.

Jon did confirm my suspicions about my feet being flatter than average, and that my left foot turned out to be half a size smaller than my right. He also noticed my funny gait, which I now suspect has to do with trying to keep my left foot from slipping out of a shoe over the years. Will try to correct.

He also agreed to document the process of making my shoes. When I receive the pictures, I will post them here.