ExIT Shoes

Pair Number 15

This is the result of a joint effort with a shoemaker that I met when I missed my flight from San Francisco last year. When I first met him, he gave me a crash course in welting which took all of five minutes. I was too afraid to try it on my own, and I finally got some time to go back and work with him.

Pietro, who is in his 80s and has been making shoes since his teens, agreed to work with me if I was not too much of a pest. I made the uppers from water buffalo leather that I bought in Holland last year and have been saving for a special occasion. Pietro lasted the right shoe and stitched the first three stitches on a 4″ piece of welt. Then he sent me home to finish it. I had to find enough welt for both shoes, last the left shoe, then remove the little sample he left for me, and stitch them both up.

They are size 43, width 9, soled with J.R. soling leather from Germany. Heels are leather and finished with SnoSeal. The welt is ornamented by the fancy wheel I bought on my last trip to Holland.

Add Comment | March 15th, 2006

Pair Number 14

Green suede and black embossed leather. After making a few pairs of ankle boots, I’ve learned a few things. My wife has also been envious of the pairs that have walked away. So this pair was for her. She liked the style of the tooled leather and suede that I made for her before (pair number 9), so here it is again as an ankle boot. I kept the heel counter low like I was told to do before and I think it has made them very comfortable for her. There is no shank and I cut out the center of the heels to save weight. This pair is constructed using the San Crispino style and the midsole is a soft foam. It was not a lot of fun to work with, and the black tooled leather was really too thick. It was very hard to get a wrinkle free curve around the toe of the shoe. Leather heels, Italian soling leather. Black cherry wood stain on the heel and sole edge. Size 38, width 8.

Add Comment | February 9th, 2006

Pair Number 13

Ankle boots for me. I’ve made enough for others, it was time for my own pair. This is double stitch construction, but no welt. The blue upper was very heavy leather, so I thought it was more than durable enough to do the job of the welt as well. American Oak soling leather. American Oak is now out of business, so I’ll be lucky if I can find any of that soling leather again. Leather heel and sole finished with black cherry wood stain, then finished with Sno-Seal.

Add Comment | January 20th, 2006

Pair Number 12

Brown. I made these for a friend who has provided a lot of help and support to me in my learning process. I’ve spent a lot of time in his shop, taken advantage of his tools and expertise which he has generously shared with me. Green laces, Italian soling leather. This pair incorporates a layer of shock absorbing foam sandwiched between the leather insole and leather outsole. This fateful pair was my first customization. I leathered out the last of the right shoe afer extensive measuring, and experimentation with vacuum forming. They were not without peril. This was the first pair that I ruined in production. While sanding the heel I gashed the upper just above it. Actually, the entire heel ripped completely off and the shoe flew out of my hand and smacked into the tray below the sanding wheel. For a while, I felt differently about my sander, but it taught me a good lesson. I reattached the heel and finished it anyway just to make myself feel better and to show that sander I was not so easily frightened away. I was prepared to make the right shoe again, but my friend told me “I’m the customer, and this is the shoe I want. I want it like it is.” Thank you so much.

Add Comment | November 1st, 2005

Pair Number 11

Ankle boots for a friend and tango teacher in exchange for lessons. Red leather upper, double stitch construction. Completely hand stitched. The leather welt is stitched through the uper and liner to the insole. Then the welt is stitched to the sole. Leather heels pegged with birch pegs. Heels and sole edged finished with just Sno-Seal.

Add Comment | September 1st, 2005

Pair Number 10

Made using a style of construction I learned in Friesland, the Netherlands, called San Crispino, or Conasta. This is brown, with white stitching. The heels and edge of the sole are finished with a black dye. Green shoe laces. They are a size 43, width 8. Made for a friend who has given me a lot of free green leather to play with.

Add Comment | July 1st, 2005

Pair Number 9

Shoes for dance made for my lovely wife. These are a basic glue down construction. Teal suede and tooled leather. The tooling on the quarters is by machine, maybe embossed is a better description. Leather heel, Italian soling leather. Heels and sole edge are finished with a brown shoe dye.

Add Comment | June 1st, 2005

Pair Number 8

In May 2005 I went to study with two shoemakers in the Netherlands. With their careful supervision I made these Derbys. The construction method here is also a Conasta, or San Crispino. Hand stitched where the upper meets the sole. German soling leather, lether heel. Finished with brown shoe dye on the heel and sole edge. Size 42, width 7. Customized for my width.

Add Comment | May 1st, 2005

Pair Number 6

Green. These are really green. These were made on Canadian lasts. Very flat, big toe box. Lime green upper, white laces, leather heel. Made for a trip to China. The heel and sole edge is finished with clear Yankee wax. Size 41/2-5N

1 Comment | April 1st, 2005

Pair Number 5

Red. These were for my step-son. They were based on my favorite ankle boots that I wore out completely. I cut them up and derived a pattern for this last from those pieces. Every pattern is designed for a specific last, so I found that an exact copy didn’t really fit even though I was using more or less the same size last. These are my first double stitch construction. The upper is all hand stitched. The welt is dyed yellow and the heels and sole are finished with black shoe dye to give it a lower profile. These are also my first ankle boots. My step-son and I have the same size feet, so it was fun for me to take them out dancing one night before handing them over to him for certain distruction. Over a year later, he still wears them almost every day. I replaced one heel that he managed to tear off, but they are otherwise holding up well. I have to say it was painful to see him playing at the water line on the beach in them when we went for a hike at the coast, but I’m over that now. Yes, really, I am.

Add Comment | January 1st, 2005