Velo Trials and Taking Commissions

I mentioned in the last post that I'm planning some major changes coming up soon. Until then, I am taking commissions! I'd also like to do another Velo shoe trial. My timeline doesn't really afford to order new lasts, but I do have opportunity to make shoes. To do it, I need at least six pairs ordered. Did you want to know what sizes I have of the Velo last? Well, here they are: 6C, 8C, 9C, 9.5 C and D, 10C, 10.5 B and C, 11 B and C, 11.5 B, 12C, 12.5 D. Thanks and goodnight!

I Should Be Asleep, But Here's an Update!

I updated the Velo Project page a couple of days ago - if you're not keeping up on all the latest, I am going ahead with the next trial stage of the bike shoes. They are still at a special reduced price (albeit a little higher), until I'm rolling out the finished version. So if you want in, e-mail me and we'll discuss the particulars.

I've sent the last models to my lastmaker - they should have arrived there today, so I need to send a list of sizes. This needs to happen in the next couple of days! Because this is still testing, I need to keep the last orders to a minimum until I've collected more real world feedback. What this means to potential customers is that I cannot guarantee your size unless I know it before the order, so don't delay!

Velo Trial stage 2!

I still need to work up a proper post, but the condensed version is that I already have new orders for the Velo shoes, so the second trial is happening sooner than expected! I'm taking sizes and deposits - the last models are already on their way to the last maker, so if you're interested e-mail me at curious@riotgeer.com soon!

I feel like I have a million things to update about, but I need to eat now.

Velo! Velo! Done!

Last week I finished the Velo shoes! On Saturday, I delivered most of them, with the very last ones delivered and shipped yesterday.

So far the feedback I've gotten on them is good. It's not the best riding conditions for many people to ride in them, but yesterday a customer left our meeting on her bike with Velos on her feet!

Before delivering, I took some better photos and this morning I did a little color correction. Please enjoy this slideshow - you can click over to Picasa to see them full size:


I'm pretty excited to move to the next phase of the Velo project, though i think it's safe to say there will be some hiatus. Once I get some new projects progressing and catch up on some others, I'll make a page dedicated to the Velo Project. I have a number of ideas for moving forward that I'll share once I digest them a bit more.

I'll update soon!

Velo Delivery Is Imminent

The Velos are basically done - all that's left is purely cosmetic.


I'm delivering them with a basic removable insole that people can swap out with one of their choice - the only problem is the pesky brand name of a major sneaker company! So I'll be sticking small logos on top of those.

I'm in the process of letting people know that their shoes are about to be done, and I'll be delivering them to people or bike shops on Saturday.



Woo hoo!

Velo, Velo, Velo!

If you aren't following my Facebook Page (which you should, of course!) - you don't know that I've gotten the Velos stitched. I picked them up this weekend, and bought the last of the supplies needed to finish them off.



There was some question of whether I'd be able to get the preferred type of stitch put in. That might have required me to treat the bottoms differently - needing different supplies - so I delayed buying the final bits. Consequently, the supplier ran out of the soles I wanted to use and won't have them back in for a few weeks (ugh)- Fortunately, I had a back up style that should be good and sticky, and textured for bike pedals!

Today I sorted the soles and heels and started prepping the heel parts and the Velos will be the bulk of what I'm working on this week.
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Other items of note:

I should also be working on those wallets I mentioned last post - I'm restocking my snap fasteners, so look for a couple of new wallet styles to show up on my Etsy store very soon.

My wallets weren't a hit at Wolfbait - I'll try some other items there again in the future - but for now you won't find my items for sale there (you should still visit - they have some great stuff!).

If you check out my Etsy items, you'll find that I've lowered the prices on the more expensive items - it's a great time to shop if you're looking for a gift for that special someone (it's basically February, after all). If you are local and you are willing to pick up an item from me (or depending on your location - I'll bring it to you!) there's an Etsy coupon against the shipping - contact me to see if that is an option and get the code!

I have a new phone - if you need to reach me, please contact me via e-mail, as the number on my cards from the last several years is no longer active.

Soled and Waiting!

Well, the leather soles are on and the lasts are out!

The Velo shoes are in boxes and waiting to meet a special stitching machine before I can put the heels and rubber half-soles on. I'm looking into shoe repair shops to do the work and I'll be taking them in next week after I do a little extra research.

It's not quite the weekend, but have a good one! Please enjoy the slide show of the Velo shoes so far...

Soling the Velos

Quick update - I've attached the soles to the first ten pairs of the Velo shoes. I started with the duplicate sizes first, so I'm making speedy progress getting the duplicate sizes lasted and caught up with the rest.


Once all of the shoes have the leather soles attached, I'll take them to be sewn with a special stitching machine I do not have. Once that is done, they'll get their rubber half-soles and heels.

"Like" my page on Facebook to see more process WIP pictures!

Do you Facebook?

I did it. I created a Facebook page for my work and there is now a "Like" button over there on the right hand side of the screen, above the blog description. Among other things, I'll be posting more WIP photos so people can see what I'm working on between blog posts. Go ahead - you know you want to!

In other news, the lasting of the Velo Shoes is going well. Currently, all of the lasts are occupied, so the remaining pairs must be patient.

The lasting that I've been showing off so far have not been cemented to the insole boards yet - if you were my students, I would have called it pre-lasting.

I have started cementing! These are the ones with more uppers waiting in the wings:



This is good!

Bike Shoes Update 10/15/11

A very, very brief update on the bike shoes trial.

I am hard at work on the shoes - the earlier delays, as well as some others pushed the project into a period where there were some major things going on that couldn't be avoided or rescheduled.

Since the last post, I've finished making all of the sectionals on the computer, made numerous spreadsheets to keep everything organized and efficient, and begun cutting. Right now, I am maybe 85% done with cutting all of the uppers. It is going smoothly and I will finish tomorrow - assembly will commence Monday.

On Sunday (tomorrow), my studio building is continuing a weekend of open studios - while I haven't prepared anything for guests, I will be there working - come by and see the art - and see what 13 pairs of shoes look like before they start getting sewn together! The address is 3311 West Carroll Avenue, in the East Garfield park neighborhood.

Maybe I'll see some of you tomorrow.

Goodnight!

Delay, Work, Delay, Work - Yay!

Sorry for the silence - I have been plugging away at the bike shoes, but as the title implies, I ran into a lot of delays which I'm finally recovering from.

Some of the delays were the result of some back and forth with suppliers. I'm still learning to navigate resourcing materials that are usually sourced for factories - most of these places aren't really set up for working on such a small scale. As of now, I have the materials I need, but I'll have to exercise extra amounts of caution with building all the pieces parts. The next go round, it will be smoother.

The grading process wasn't as straight-forward as I hoped, due to some inconsistencies in the lasts. So I did a lot of hand-wringing before deciding on a method to proceed with.

I've been using a combination of traditional pen on paper drafting, along with experimenting with using a vector drawing program to clean and scale them to different sizes and still maintain proportions. It's been an up and down process - especially since I'm not using a program with built-in footwear/pattern engineering parameters... someday... a person can dream, right?



Patterning can be time-consuming, but the nice thing about this design is that once I'm satisfied that the patterns are good, everything can move forward very quickly. Below are two sample uppers I'm testing to see how the patterns fit on the last. These give me enough info to tweak the patterns and begin cutting the finals towards the end of the week (btw, that's the "yay!" part).



If it continues as expected, the next update will show off some of the final uppers before they go on the last.

Until next time!

Lasts!

Haha, the lasts have finally arrived!



I was able to start the patterning process Thursday night, and I'll get into it in earnest on Saturday, when it will (hopefully) be less hot. I'll be taking the opportunity of working with multiple sizes of a single last style to try my hand at grading the patterns (generating different sizes) - due to mostly making one-offs, it's a skill that I've never had need to learn. This should also make it go faster (as I cross my fingers against jinxing things).

Also... A customer has just ordered a pair of the "Elf" last for future footwear.



Since it usually takes around a month to get lasts back from copying, they should arrive when I'm finishing up the bike shoes. If you like this style last and are interested in having a custom pair of lasts done up for you, this is the ideal time to do it so it won't take super long to start. The site is peppered with images of shoes and boots made on the Elf - look at the about page, and the portfolio page - they are the ones with the distinctive upturned toe.

FYI, I'll try to throw together a bit of a process explanation on the lasts page as a way of explaining the time lapse. Done! Let me know if it seems clear and straightforward.

Have a good weekend!

Leather, Updates and Ideas!

I got to swing by the tannery yesterday to see what leather I could pick up to round out the choices for the bike shoes trial - always fun, and sometimes frustrating, it is the nature of how I procure hides. More on that later....

So now that I have all the colors I'll be able to offer, I'll go through my stock to see how much I have of what so don't promise six pairs of something I only have enough for three - or some similarly horrifying result.

There will be black - which is surprising since it's been years since I actually bought any (other than for trims and linings), plus there was one piece of red hide that should work as a softer alternative to the red latigo (see preceding posts for pictures of "those red shoes"). Unfortunately, there was no longer any more of the actual red latigo, so what I have in stock is it for the foreseeable future unless some company decides to order a several hundred feet.


Something I don't usually do, is go through the scraps bin. It's usually depressing to find a minuscule scrap of something gorgeous that I can't get restocked without thousands of dollars investment. This time I did, so there are some fun options for trims and possibly one unique shoe in one variety (it's a bit oily though):


Variety of leather is one of the benefits, as well as the downsides to being an individual artist/craftsperson/designer (whatever). I can usually come up with some pretty unique solutions to the needs of a customer by dropping by the tannery - even though sometimes it will come with a very hefty price-tag depending on what type of leather it is, as well as what grading it has. Horween specializes in very good quality leathers. I get to see a lot of samples that were made for specialty markets, and I have a huge library of swatches of ridiculously cool leathers going back to my student years. Unfortunately most of them will probably never be available to me, so I keep them for color and tannage reference and daydreaming.

The leather choice issue is also why finding a variety of crust leather that I can custom dye is so very appealing. If I could get a somewhat large quantity manufactured without committing to making hundreds of shoes all the same color, the volume pricing could potentially offset some of the cost of providing custom and semi-custom color options.

I do buy some upper leather from other suppliers - except for some premium Italian stuff, I keep having more bad experiences than good (mostly inconsistent quality). I don't feel bad about making those my last resort these days.
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I need to update my materials and make new cards and a new brochure type thing. I would really like to do some promotional items to sell, such as T-shirts and cycling caps. They would be printed with a variation of my header logo, so I've been shopping around screen printing shops and researching a particular cycling cap I like. I don't know if I'd be pursuing this while I'm working on the trial run, or afterward when I'm reviewing the trial and working out the logistics of a larger run.

I would love to hear from people any ideas on taking pre-orders or something similar. I'm wondering if using something like Kickstarter to graduate to the next stage might be something to consider.
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Some of you may have noticed that I took down my link to Etsy (as well as the pieces on it). I decided to try them out at a local boutique - Wolfbate & B-girls in Chicago's Logan Square. It's a pretty nifty shop, and people can see my stuff in person. I will probably gradually restock some items on Etsy, but I want to see how things go at the shop first.
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In an effort to make space (and a few dollars), I have one of my sewing machines up for sale on Craigslist here.

I'm thinking of holding a studio sale to make some space, and get rid of materials I probably won't ever get around to using - I keep buying fabric for projects that I don't have time to make. I'm going to be pretty hectic once the bike shoe lasts get here, so it needs to happen pretty soon - if at all.

Until next time,

Cheers!

Bike Shoes Update 7/12/11

This is just a really quick post to say that I've closed the pre-orders for my bike shoes trial run. The last model is on it's way to my last-maker. On order are twelve pairs of shoes to be made once the lasts come back.

While I'm waiting for the lasts, I'll be collecting supplies that need to be restocked and start discussing color and detail options available to the customers.

Then I get to be the crazed shoemaker!



In case you're bored with the same picture over and over again, I'll give you something new to look at next time!

There are a few details to work out, but there will be some more announcements to be made in the near future. I'm applying to participate in an event coming up that I'll post once I've heard back.

Cheers!

Bike Shoes Are Go! Plus a Boston Trip Recap

Fantastic news!

I seem to have met my minimum to start on the trial run of the bike shoes!

It would be great to get a few more people in on this, so give me a ring or send a message if you are interested. I plan on sending my bike last to be copied by the end of the week, so I need a final list of sizes by Monday, July 11th.

If you are local, it's possible that I can measure you myself (depending on time and your distance from me or proximity to CTA trains) - It's nice to talk to people in person - so it's preferable if it's possible.

Oh, and FYI: Because this isn't meant to be custom, you don't need to be local or follow a rigorous measuring protocol to take part in this.


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Boston was blast!

I was able to make the trip because there were a number of things going on - a high school reunion, networking with bike folks, pedorthics research and then on to a family reunion in Rhode Island to celebrate my parents birthdays. This trip was packed, and long and cool.

Did I mention long? It's been ages since I've left town for more than a few days - here I've been back a week and I'm still getting back into a groove, if you've made it this far into the post, you already know why I'm especially excited right now!

Out of shear luck, the tenants where I crashed in Boston were mostly involved with bikes somehow, so I got off to a great start meeting people just by staying put and hanging out (thanks Laurel!). Besides the where I stayed (and the reunion), I also got to to have a great time hanging out and catching up with some old friends!

I have rediscovered how bad my sense of direction can sometimes be by wandering around Boston. I probably would have been better off without trying to geek-out with the map program on my phone and just submitted to looking like a tourist - I can actually read a map, though you wouldn't know it if you'd seen me. Ha!

I still managed to stop by Geekhouse Bikes in Boston and Royal H Cycles in Somerville (as well as an unplanned visit to Independent Fabrications!). Thanks everyone for taking time out to talk, show me cool stuff and chat about how and why we make things.

I made it in to a few bike shops - both for eye-candy and to see what is what. Fitters at two locations of Wheelworks indulged me in conversation about how various fitting systems incorporate footwear issues (and vice-versa). Superb Bicycles in Boston was a pretty cool shop to visit - cool bikes and a cool selection of bike-centric clothing.

From Boston, I bussed it to Rhode Island to hang out with extended family (that I don't see often), immediate family (that I should see more often) and wish my parents a happy birthday!

My flights were mostly uneventful and now I'm back in Chicago!

Now, I have a bunch of stuff to make happen, so I'm signing off. I hope you've had a lovely Fourth of July weekend and you're looking forward to a great week ahead.

Cheers!

Updates Before I'm Boston Bound!

I am leaving for Boston tomorrow morning! While I'm away, I'll be checking my e-mail to discuss the bike shoe project, etc...

The Bike Shoe trial is listed at the top of my News Page

I'm just starting to add descriptions to the work on the footwear portfolio page - just a bit at a time.

Cheers!

Bike Shoes Trial Run!

So, yesterday I mentioned I want to do a trial run on the bike shoes - here is an updated version of the proposal:


The basic design is engineered to be pretty quick builds, so I can make them relatively inexpensively. Since the big hurdle is the cost of getting the lasts copied, I need a small group of interested people to put down deposits. While, I'm not comfortable stating it here, I have a trial price in mind that should at least cover a small range of lasts, the materials, plus help me keep the lights on. This is for handmade - not made to measure - bike shoes for use with clips and straps (heck, there's nothing that says you need to use these on a bike!). If you are interested, contact me and we'll discuss what options* there are and how to proceed. I'm not asking for specific sizes - give me a shout and we'll see if a natural range results. I am thinking at least six people will make it a go, and I need to know soon, as it takes some time to get the lasts copied.

It will help speed things up greatly if - before you contact me - you get your feet measured using a Brannock device at your local shoe store. Whether you identify M/F or other, please have them use the mens' device. Make sure you are standing up for the measuring of both feet. The instructions for the use of these devices have changed over the years - your particular store might not follow this set.

I have to get back to the studio, now, but please get in touch if you are interested or you have questions.

Cheers!

* I know not everyone wants bright red shoes - color is one of the points to discuss with me!

There Will Be More Bike Shoes!

Now that the Bike Chic fashion show is over, it's time to keep going!



I'm really liking the bike shoes so far, but I'm hoping to get a few people into other sizes this summer. The basic design (the red ones) are designed to be pretty quick builds, so I can make them relatively inexpensively. I still haven't costed them out, but I'd love to chat about it if you are interested. The big hurdle is the cost of getting the lasts copied. If I can get a few people in different sizes interested in putting down deposits on handmade - not made to measure - bike shoes for use with clips and straps - we can discuss a reasonable price. I don't have specific sizes in mind yet, so give me a shout and we'll see if a natural range results. I need to know soon, as it takes some time to get the lasts copied.

I'd like to play with composite lay-up, but that may dramatically increase the price - I will discuss it if there is interest.

On a related note (to handmade bike stuff anyway), I'll be visiting the Boston area very soon. I'm hoping to get an opportunity to meet some bike framebuilders while I am there - give me a shout if you are one and you have time for a chat, or maybe you know someone and can get me in touch.

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I need to make space both at home and at the studio, so....

I'm selling one of my bikes - here's the craigslist ad.

I am selling one of my industrial sewing machines. This is the Consew flatbed straightstitch machine with reverse. It has a nearly new clutch motor and K-legs with a heavy wood top - I'll be asking $200 as is (which is a good deal for those parts alone) - I'll up the price if I decide to lug the head to the machine shop to have it checked out. Contact me ASAP if you want it as is- there is no listing for it yet.

Bike Chic, Bike Shoes And A Plan

For those of you who couldn't make it to the Bike Chic fashion show today, here are some photos of the finished shoes - later, I'll post some shots from the show itself!



Something that resembles a plan:

Over the last year in the studio I’ve been trying some new things and continuing explorations already in progress – in a roundabout way, it’s been about feeling out a direction to take my work. I’ve decided to focus most of my studio efforts into developing and making cycling footwear and accessories. This is a subject that will allow me to continue to explore many of the things that I enjoy – such as materials research, last design and shoe/object making. Refocusing my studio work will require some changes both directly and indirectly related to my practice.

To focus on cycling stuff, I need to commit to some research and development, as well as some further professional development. I’ve decided to finish my prerequisites to sit for the Certified Pedorthist exam. Getting certified is partly for research, and partly for credentials to help me get a job. I think having my C.Ped will be useful if I’m making shoes that need to be particularly bio-mechanically sound, plus while I was taking the pedorthics course two years ago, I learned some techniques I can apply to engineering footwear. This should be a win-win situation – I’m expecting it to take a while to see the cycling shoes project bare fruit -- and having my C.Ped will keep me employed until then.

I'm still taking commissions - not only bike shoes, though that's going to be my main focus moving forward - plus right now, I am seeking something to help pay bills and opportunities to fulfill the intern hours required for pedorthics certification.

Finally, I still have my small leather goods for sale on Etsy - they want to make you look sharp and hold your keys, cards and cash for you!

Bike Chic Thursday!

Thursday at noon at Daley Plaza downtown Chicago is the Bike Chic fashion show!


Probably without the killer heat - bonus!

Hope to see you there.