State Change (not the one I was expecting)

I'm rather under the weather, but I thought I'd throw up a short post since it's been so long.

If you'd asked me three months ago what I was doing, I would have said with great certainty that I was moving to the Boston area. In the run-up to moving out of my apartment, I was offered a position that I was looking forward to that would require staying in Chicago. Well, things didn't shake up, so I had to turn down the offer.

This left me pretty torn - change directions again and keep moving east? Or find a way to stay? I realized that after eighteen years, I'd finally started feeling rather attached to Chicago and my various communities I am part of here.

At this time, all of my studio stuff is in storage/future studio in another state, and it will remain there until I get through cosmetology school and get more settled in a new career.

Wait - what? Yeah, I decided to go back to school for a career change! I've always loved hair and styling (I think it come built in to what ever gene got me using Aqua-Net Ultra Super Hold when I was a wee high schooler). I very nearly pursued trade school way back! Recently a friend started attending and a lightbulb went off in my head - and that was that!

So unofficially, I've retired from my shoemaking and accessories extravaganza - someday the plan is to have a vacation studio so I can keep doing my obsessive designing and making. Until then I am once again a student in a creative field (and looking for work, too!).

Someday, I'll cut you and make you shoes!

Kirsten

Studio... Hiatus

Checking in on the blog I've realized I have been woefully remiss in posting an update. Hopefully, I'll make an update with more detail soon, but here is an abbreviated version.

I recently closed my studio and put a portion of my equipment into storage. For the foreseeable future I am stopping taking commisions. I am getting ready to try something very different, which I'll happily share once it's under way.

For the time being, I'll try to post the occasional picture or thought. I'm still knitting, so maybe a bit of that.

For those of you who were on the fence about some of my small leather goods, I do have a small number of inventor items - if you check out my Facebook page, you'll find some pictures. It's in storage, but I'll be pulling some of it out before the end of the month, so shoot me an e-mail!

Until sooner or later!

K

Velo V2 Update

I've been waiting to post an update on the new version of the Velo shoes until there was visual evidence. I'm pressed fro time, but here's a couple items.

A big plus has been working machines - I'm no longer forced to run all over to sew bits and bobs elsewhere! After some fiddling, I figured out what was wrong with my one machine for zig-zagging the seams. Much neater and they only require minor reinforcement before the facings get sewn on:



Recently, I acquired a new walking foot machine. This one can sew pretty heavy materials - and specifically - I can use a very heavy sewing thread which I like the look of. With a special attachment I can apply seam binding easily - initially I wanted this for building bags, but it also makes a particularly vexing part of the Velo's much easier and cleaner. I'm still working trouble shooting a bit, but it is a vast improvement over V1:


The tongues now have retainer tabs on them to keep them from wandering off to the side:


There are some other changes to the patterns, but I'm waiting until they're lasted to show them. Some relatively unseen changes are to the internal structures and the lasts, that should improve some of the problematic finishing on the first ones.

I'm about to finish the backs, and move on to the toes and tongues:



In non-Velo news, here's a picture of a pair of ankle boots I'm working on:


Don't forget to check out my Etsy store to see my new wallets!

Gotta run!

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!

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 Fashion Show Is Next Week!

Hey everybody! Just a friendly reminder that Chicago is presenting the Bike Chic fashion show on Thursday June 9th at noon in Daley Plaza!

I'll be providing the shoes to designer Seth Meyerink-Griffin's two looks on the runway. We should be doing the fittings on Saturday and I'm waiting until the show to post the final pics of the shoes.

On a related note, I've updated my About page a little bit, and I'll probably be making a significant post after the show next week.

Have a good weekend, and I hope to see people at the show if you're local!

Organizing the Studio, Organizing the Blog!

I am still tweaking it and deciding what is going to stay on the about me page, but check it out. I've made an entry that talks about the kind of projects I am particularly keen to work on.

I've created a new page describing my three primary last styles. All of my lasts are available for doing custom work, including ones not showcased on my lasts page.

I may have mentioned that I wanted to build a new cutting table and possibly a divider wall? Well, as a birthday present, I was able to purchase the materials - yes! Consequently, the studio was shut down for a couple weeks(!) while I was building. I'm still cleaning (oh, the dust!) and organizing, but it is really very cool that I'm finally able to give things a proper home.

This is the new cutting table - it is very much overbuilt, but I can really heap abuse on my studio furnishings, so this is a good thing. It has a very large shelf underneath that will someday have drawers to protect rolled up leather:

Two of the legs have heavy duty casters so I can move it wheelbarrow style:


These are not the most brilliant of pictures, since the quarters are close, but I built a dividing wall to separate the "clean" from "messy" areas of the studio. One side is paneled with smooth white paneling that works as a white board to take notes on:


And on the back side, it is paneled with peg board to hang my tools over my shoemaking bench:


While the inevitable scrapes and bruises are healing, I'm putting everything away and creating task areas, such as a dedicated dye/airbrush station for working on my custom dyed pieces.

Along with everything else, the small leather goods were put on hold during the building, but I did pick up a fantastic piece of leather from Horween - it was a splurge, but it will make some really nice pieces.

This coming month is turning into a really busy time! There's some really exciting stuff I should be able to announce soon, plus I should have a few more items on Etsy soon, so keep an eye out.

State of My State

Just a quick post!

I am working on some new small items for sale, so keep an eye out for new stuff in my Etsy shop soon - some will be companion pieces for some existing designs, and some will be stand-alone items.

I have edited the text at my Etsy shop to clarify that I am happy to discuss custom items, and also renewed the expired listings.

Upcoming! I've started working on some new descriptions of what I'm working on, as well as the kind of work I am particularly happy to be approached about. I'm looking at the end of the week to have the updates up.

I am excited to be discussing collaborations with a couple of Chicago designers, and I hope to share some of that in the future!

Til later,

Cheers

New Year and New Stuff

It's been ever so long since I last updated here. I've had a lot going on- right now I'm home with an ick that's going around which may or may not be the flu. With three months of updates, I've broken this down into three separate posts that I will publish over the next couple of days.

I may have mentioned that I was looking for a job a while back, just something to pay the bills, since I haven't been aggressive trying to make money through the studio. Well, I did get a part time job at a cafe. It drained me pretty well, so I wasn't being too active at the studio. I've never really settled into the space with the pretty massive amount of stuff I crammed into it, so it felt like it took a lot of energy just being there.

At the beginning of February, my landlords asked me if I wanted to move into a different space - it suited me much better as far as space, layout and lighting. I jumped on it pretty quickly and made an agreement to move in by the February fifteenth. With the help of a couple of friends, I got everything shifted to the new space in record time.


I agreed with such short notice, that I didn't have time to consider placement, so it turned into a major project to move things into their proper positions. I finally have everything placed pretty well.




I'd like to build some shelves and dividers, but for now I'm trying to focus on making the space usable, so I can get back to work. I really, really need to get back to work. Just a few days after I officially came into possession of the new space, I found out that the cafe I'd been working at was closing down - just terrible, terrible timing for me. I'm looking for a job again, and trying to focus on a couple of paying jobs I have that got back-burnered. I have a few pieces I'd like to develop - non-shoe stuff that can be accessible and comparatively easier to produce.