A Shoemaker's blog... or something like that - Page 3

I mentioned in the last entry, that I have a Budapest - almost the same like Fabro (I made the sewing different, not so strudel that his one, and the sole is also different.) I don't want to repeat myself - I simply love it. I wear it with jeans: A snapshot from the workshop.. I started to make an MTO collection again! It is autumn, so I started to make a balmoral - I have a lot of model, except this. To make a new model is always a fight - it's something like cooking. You choose the nice ingredients, than realise that even those things were tasty, together gives something uneatable muck. Sometimes you can find a good combination and get a Michelin star.. This is the same with the shoes. Forms, leathers, arches, technologies, sole decoration, sewing, colours, etc.. can make beautiful effects and sometimes ugly results. When my closer finish her work in a pair of new upper, and bring them to me smiling and happy - and I realise, that this is not what I want. It cause can be a small mistake - what a customer would NEVER realise - I do), or just I don't like the style together... So, I have to make her sad, and change something in pattern, technology, colourse, and start it over.. Not so many times happens, but not so rare. I don't know if other workshop has this problem, but we do. I hope this balmoral will satisfy my taste. (second try actually.. ) Crimping. My dear friend and collague - Janne Melkerson shown me this technique - we, Hungarian maker use a more ancient (and frankly: not so good) technology, like this. Janne was so kind to show me his method when I visited him (and making a common course with him) in this summer. And a nice picture from Sweden - go there to holiday, if you can! Next project: riding boot. And I also plan to make a new video.. Soon coming..

New entry, new pair.. I already introduced a pair of shoes made of this leather. The leather is tanned with a flower, called mimosa Anyway - even if it's mimosa or not - very sensitive one (so finally it is a good name. ). I introduced some small changes into the technology, which - I hope - makes the quality better. Actually I do it all the time. So now I've found at least 5-6 different ways to build the heel, 6 ways to make the mirror shine, and so on.. Usually I use the last method I "invent". I get a lot of feedbacks on this blog, thus decided: as long as there will be some readers, and can generate some interest, I will keep up with these entries (and as long as I have anything interesting to show you of course). Now about the sole finish: a shoemaker works on the sole for hours (solely to achieve a perfect shine. Maybe this is the main difference between the handmade bespoke (have you heard that bespoke doesn't mean hand-made anymore?) and mass production. Us shoemakers always start with taking a closer look at the sole of the shoe. Not just because normally we don't personally make the uppers, but the sole is much more telling. Janne called it (if I remember well) "one minute art". Because when you take a pair of beautiful shoes off the shelf and they graze agains the surface for a fraction of a second - that's the moment when the blood runs cold in the veins of the shoemaker on the spot: even this movement can break the sole's beauty. When the customer tries on his new pair of shoes (or sometimes they don't ), and remarks: "They slip a bit, don't they?", then put them on the ground to prove his words...mirror shine over. There are some buddhism in it, no?

Crimping is for forming the leather for riding boots.