Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

I have been pretty busy the last couple of weeks, and it isn't stopping. The highlight has been a trip up to Wisconsin for the annual meeting of the Honourable Cordwainers Company, where once a year, shoemakers, shoe historians and enthusiasts meet up to talk, share information and hang out.

The meetings are always fantastic, as it is the one place I get to be surrounded by others engaged in the trade or practicing the craft - which is truly inspiring. Unfortunately I've only been able to make it to the gatherings that are hosted by a friend just over the border to the north - the last two were in entirely different parts of the country, so I really, really needed to make the connection this year.

I am very happy that I was able to attend this year, plus I was pleasantly surprised when I found that three of my former students were in attendance!

In the studio, I've let a lot of non-shoe and leather projects invade, so I've been doing some organizing and paring down to regain my focus- the Cordwainers meeting has me pumped to work!

What else have I been working on? Well, my major projects are still in development, so they aren't making any money yet- and won't for quite a while. I am working on a few commissions, but they aren't enough to pay the bills I've been accumulating, so I'm out there looking for a job- hopefully there's at least some seasonal work for me.

In my off-time, I've been learning to knit! I've always liked knits and fibers, and a number of my students have incorporated knitting, crochet and weaving into their footwear projects, plus my sister's been knitting for a while. It was only a matter of time before I gave it a try.... Over the summer (or was it late spring?) I took a class, but I put it aside until I got interested in a project. When I was helping my sister find some yarn, I found a hat pattern I thought was pretty cool. The hat is just about done and my hands are sore... I'm actually looking forward to the next project!

I'm thinking of writing up a blurb describing my aesthetic influences and interests to incorporate into my about page and I'm digging out some more old work that might make appearances in the portfolio pages. Don't forget to check out some of the blogs of interest in the sidebar- there's some pretty cool stuff! New to the list is the Blog from shoemakers CarreDucker- they describe a lot of traditional shoemaking techniques, and have mentioned a former student who is doing some amazing stuff in grad school.

I have to get to the studio now - I hope to see some of you next week. Here's a picture of a shoe I made several years ago when I was playing around with variations on "monkey boots":

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Site Design - done for now

I continued to tweak the site into Monday, and got some kind of satisfaction on the title and background image combination. This is a happy medium - because the background is fixed and the blog content adjusts to browser window size - it will change from user to user.

This setup will stay for a while (not including planned additions to the pages tab). The next couple of weeks are going to be busy, but hopefully I'll be able post some new (or new old) stuff.

P.S.: I still need fit models! Please check out this post from September 15th.

Friday, October 8, 2010

New Stuff and Testing Blog Changes

Updated - if you type in www.riotgeer.com - you will now be redirected to the www.riotgeer.blogspot.com !

I'm trying out new looks and layouts, so the blog will change periodically over the weekend.

In new features, I've added a news page below the header - check it out for the latest activities - currently the top item is the 3311 Carroll Open Studios coming up November 7th.

Finally, I've added a few more pieces to the footwear portfolio page. Here's a one of my favorites from Riotgeer Design Co. - the Football Shoe on the Gunton Last:

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Open Studio Day, November 7th, 2010

Save the date to visit the artists at 3311 West Carroll: