Northampton - The home of fine shoes and a great place to learn the gentle craft of Cordwainery. So armed with note book, camera and an inquiring mind I hopped in the Stabo wagon and motored the 40 miles for the 3 day course.
Over the long weekend we worked on a pair of men's Oxford shoes, transformimg a few pieces of leather, nails, glue and thread into a pair of high quality footwear. Although, this did take many hours and hundreds of nuanced steps along with specialist tools.
Here are some of the steps:
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| Outer and lining cut, skived (seams thinned) stuck together and a first lasting |
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| A second lasting, adding a toe stiffner and preparing the underside for the sole |
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| Preparing the sole, adding a leather rand and preparing the sole and upper for attaching |
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| The workshop, the finished Oxford shoes and a sample pair of our own Chukka style of shoe we are working on. |
A great course, learnt new skills, knowledge and contacts. Feeling inspired to develop our own simple shoe.
