At Lasting!

Sorry, I couldn't resist - as it implies, I have officially begun lasting the Velo shoes!


At the moment, my studio feels like an icebox - I have a spare space heater to bring to the studio, but I am waiting on a Zipcar reservation to drop it off and run an errand. Since I find myself with a few minutes to burn, I can point out some new things on the blog.

I did update the News page, but it is old news if you've been following the blog posts.

In addition to the link to my Etsy store and Wolfbait & B-girls in the side bar, I have added an Etsy page up top. While I was updating the Etsy site, I ran across code that allows me to include a preview of my store or my favorites on the site. I'll be tweaking the dimensions and perhaps ultimately scrapping it, but now you can go to the Etsy page up top and see a selection of my available items, as well as a means to click directly to the actual listings.

For more networking and promotions, I am considering creating a Facebook page. I've almost decided what to call it. Someone has created a completely unrelated page using the same spelling of Riotgeer as me. It leaves me a bit grumpy since I have very specific reasons for spelling it as I do - but I don't think I can do anything about it. Most likely, I'll wind up just using my name (though a few people will understand why I'd rather not do that). As far as business purposes I'd like to not add paperwork to my pile, so I don't want to do an assumed name for my design studio right now.
That said, I would like to get some feedback on the idea of a FB page.

Updates on Velo shoes and the site

Hello all! I am out of town for the holiday, but I have some updates to share with folks.

I think I mentioned this already, but when I was offered the opportunity to use my former employers machine to pick up where one of mine went down, I've also been picking up some shifts. At this shop we make mostly commercial costumes and props and it's all soft sculpture, working with foam and fake-fur and spandex and the like. It's a whole different world from making shoes and small leather goods - and it's been fun.

Between the costume shop and my studio, the Velo shoe uppers are now done - as soon as I get back to Chicago, I can start lasting. Eventually I'll make an album and include the close-ups, but here is a shot of the whole group of completed uppers:


Since I can't be at the studio working, I am taking the opportunity to make a few updates to the site/blog. I've added a new section to the sidebar for links to where you can find my stuff:

I am slowly working on updating my Etsy items (just in time for holiday shopping, right?) - don't forget that I am happy to hear inquiries into custom items through Etsy.

If you want to see some of my small items in person, I do have some items available at the Chicago store Wolfbait & B-girls - they are a great place to see various local and independently produced designs.

There are a few other changes afoot, but I'll save any announcements until they are more concrete.

Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, I hope you get to enjoy good drink, good food and good friends!

Sometimes it looks like a factory

Progress progresses on the bike shoes - a person I worked for back in school is letting me use one of her machines to stand in for mine. I'm also doing a bit of work for her which I'm enjoying.

Because of the order of processes it's taking a bit longer moving between studios, but slow progress is better than no progress - yes?

And sometimes, yes, it does look like a factory - there's something satisfying about shots like this one:



I've finished the backs, so I'm ready to join the fronts with the borrowed machine and then I can finish the uppers on my own machines and start lasting:



__________

Since the holiday season is nigh - I'll be putting a few items back up in my Etsy store. Keep an eye out for the link to be resurrected. On a somewhat related note, I'm contemplating some additions/changes to the site... we'll see.

Expletives.

After finally getting through a hump of delays, one of my sewing machines has died. It's one that I use for a critical part of sewing the bike shoe uppers, and it happened promptly after informing a customer that I would be very shortly moving from making the uppers to lasting.

The machine's an antique and made for a European market, so fixing it will be far more expensive that replacing it. I'm looking to either make use of a willing friends machine or find a way to acquire a replacement. Until that is solved, I'm working on other parts of the shoes.