Day six was the final day, and it was mostly about attaching the sole to the shoe. In this case this was to be a glueing job, with the odd nail thrown in for good measure. Glue is one of those technologies that has improved over the years to the point where its a very reliable way of fixing things Read more…
Today was all about lasting. With some new grips to come to grips with, and some weird interactions with objects, tools, and limbs. And skin.
Day four was a morning of sewing. It took a bit of getting used to, and I wasn’t always as competent or comfortable using this machine as I was using some of the tools.
Day three was a continuation of preparing the pieces and components of the shoe, and coming to grips with tools, and for the first time, some machines. Sewing machines mainly. Plus brogueing. To fit together, the pieces of leather need to be cut with allowance for sewing; small extra edges that fit under or over each other or provide room Read more…
Okay, so day two was all about finishing the patterns, and then cutting. Lots of cutting. Basically all day cutting. So it was also about the tools. The original tool I worked with was a craft scalpel with a disposal blade. Which was fine, but didn’t quite feel right in my hand. I could work with it, but it felt Read more…
So this is all happening because of a chance bit of searching on the basis of finding something old, namely, some boots I had made years ago. These were made by Sue Engels of Something Shoetable, which at the time was based in Upper Cuba street, Wellington. There were various building around upper Cuba street that were on the proposed Read more…
There are a number of things about motivational language that annoys me. Firstly motivational talk is often meaningless in a practical sense. “Confront your fears” tells me nothing practical. It offers only an emotional imperative. “Do epic shit” is probably the height of nonsensical language that tells me nothing about planning, preparing, organising, or any of the other practicalities that Read more…
This is a few photos from the knife making course I did in September, 2016, following on from the billet making course I did in August, and I talked about in a previous post. I will try and tidy this up, order the photos, and discuss it a bit more soon. Essentially though, its was in a serious of stages, Read more…
The knife making course I did was through the Learning Connexion, which is a private art school based in Upper Hutt. I ended up doing two courses; the first was three days making a piece of “Damascus Steel”, the second was three days making a knife, using the piece of steel. People could also just do the knife making without Read more…
Why is it that retailers, bars, and even swimming pools, seem to demand a soundtrack? It seems to be a feature of our built, urban environments that spaces have music. Constantly. Why? Why has this happened? Why have we got to the point where almost all retailers insist on a soundtrack for their premises? And its not like a lot Read more…