ExIT Shoes

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Blue. These shoes were made on the Canadian low lasts that are of unknown origin. Low heel, big toe box. Maybe it was made for a casual work boot. These are stitched entirely by hand. Leather heels, Italian soling leather. Heels and sole edge finished with clear Yankee wax. Size 51/2-6M

Green. I got some free green leather from a friend. He got it at a garage sale. The folks selling had ordered replacement leather for their couch. By phone, they said the color was cream. What was delivered was green. After lingering for years in the garage before being sold, it lingered for years in his garage before giving it to me. The lining is machine tooled, same as the quarters on pair number 9. Size 43, width 9. The last for this pair was a gift from a new friend I met in the Netherlands. Later, he setup a workshop for me that created pair 8. Heel and sole edge finished with clear Yankee wax.

Red. This was the second attempt to make a pair of shoes for my wife. I was so certain the first pair would fit, and there were so many things I overlooked. This is the cement construction that I learned at shoeschool.com. Made on the Canadian lasts that I bought. Origin unknown. Hand stitched upper, low heel of vibram rubber soling material. Size 41/2-5N. They fit, thank God. There can now be more shoes.