Hi Guys.

The hush puppies sound great and a pulled pork sandwich would of been great for lunch but I'm about to fire up the BBQ and do some Elk ribs.

I am very interested in the recipe for the stewed Alligator Tail it sounds good . I saw one butcher shop that was selling gator steaks but I couldn't get the wife to budge on it and now they have closed so I have to find a place that carries Gator meat.....I did have my hands on a coupla bins of Gator leather today though. LOL very chewy

Guy

In the last few days I have received a circulation about current styling trends from the Italian exhibition company Lineapelle. I thought a small part of the four pages document might make amusing reading, even if only for the Italian English.

Frank Jones
frank.jones@shoemaking.com


Trend Selection news: Winter 2007/08

Heels and soles

The new proportions for the 2007/2008 season in a certain sense will be revolutionary.
The balances will be ingenious, both in their components and their volumes.
The choice saucy uppers will create new templates and artisanal methods of attaching the soles, in which nails and other methods will provide a spark of orginality and personalization.
Nails in a variety of shapes and colours, stitching with tinted/coloured threads, possibly in grooves made by hand in certain proportions. Blake finishes on the leather, and all possIble handcrafted approaches, will be mixed with sophisticated, quality injected rubber, sometimes In disproportionate sizes to instill power and emphasis to models, sometimes slender and delicate.
Research on special solutions for coupling with various materials colours, finishes, and reflections that are eccentric yet stylish.



The welts are back and are getting noticed with stitching, perhaps on the sides, using valuable threads or even distressed metallic elements. The edges can be finished with a sharp cut, and it’s not important if they're somewhat uneven or have a few mistakes In the trim where the colour breathes life Into the three-dimensionality of the material.

There's an interesting article about shoes in the September 2006 issue of National Geographic. It's more about the psychology of shoes--why we wear them and what they say about us. It's nice to read about other people who loathe the ugliness of sneakers and who see footwear as more than just something to protect our soles from rocks and pavement.

Lisa

Lisa,

Thanks for the tip ...I googled the story and have a link:

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0609/feature2/index.html

or try this (same link): http://tinyurl.com/jq38

Some beautiful work there and some pithy and pointed remarks by herself--the venerable Miss June Swann. "Decorator," indeed! Heaven preserve us...or me at least. [img]http://www.thehcc.org/forum/images/old_smilies/proud.gif"%20ALT=":O[/img]


Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

All,

I just posted an additional four pdf's on my school website: http://www.bootmaker.com/dwswb.htm ...go to Links, then Manuals [ http://www.bootmaker.com/manuals.htm ]

There are three new pdf manuals for the Singer 236, and one for the Pfaff 491. Free to download. Enjoy.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

DW,

Wow! Thank you. I really feel more secure about my 236W now. Really!

You told me you were going to have to find something else to do, once your book was finished. I'm sure I'm not the only one to say it, but I really appreciate you and what you do.

Oh, I spent some more time on your web site as well just now. And I gotta tell you, it's really sweet! Very easy to navigate around, and easy on the eyes. I'm proud to be a student. Thank you.

It's coming together slowly, for me, but I'm makin' changes.

Paul

Paul,

Thanks...I wanted to post all these manuals on the HCC homepage but there was some concern at HQ that there might be "issues."

so there they are...hope they help.

As for something to do...I've still got one more volume of Golding to put in the can (at least) before I get on the bus...probably start that after the holidays.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

WISHING EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU A JOYOUS CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
More power to y'awls
T.

As The Crispin Colloquy begins its ninth year, the staff and administration would like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas, a joyful holiday season, and a prosperous New Year.

So...Ladies and Gentlemen..."lang may your lum reek"



Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

Cheers and Merry Christmas to everybody. Also may everybody`s plans and wishes come true in the New Year.
All the best
Kaspar

Hi all this is on ebay now it has a buy now price of... LOTS
Boot & Shoe, Design and Manufacture 1905 by Swaysland, 1st Edition (#320067139818)
I don't know if it's a good buy or not at that price but it's way over my head.

More power to y'awl.
T.

Tom,

That might be a fair price. I guess a person has to have the collector's bug to pay that much for what you might, on first reflection, think is more a source of information that something of intrinsic value.

I havbe a signed copy of Swaysland but I got it years ago when prices may have been a little more reasonable. I went through a stage--a year--where I bought old books like this eagerly...on credit. I don't know how long it took to pay off but probably ...a year.

I wouldn't go back and undo that year, though.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

Just a small note for those who've been waiting...

Now that I have my full wellington book completed, I am starting the process of scanning, and converting to pdf, Golding's Volume I of his eight volume set. This volume deals with "Pattern Cutting and Making" and "The Making of Lasts." (these are the section titles in the book)

Previously I have scanned and converted volumes IV and VI, and they are posted on the HCC homepage for free public download.

It may take me six to eight months to complete this project but with this volume complete I will be done and the public will have access to the "meat" of Goldings work. The other volumes, while interesting, are, in my opinion, somewhat incidental to the processes of making a shoe or boot. If the whole set is wanted, someone else will have to undertake to pick up on the other five volumes.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

DW,

Those first ones were great and very helpful to this green horne.So proceed as time allows you I have the patience of " Job ".

Ed

Charter HCC members and long-time friends in the UK, Neil MacGregor and Valerie Michael have a nice website here (just discovered), and they offer classes, sources, etc.

http://www.leathercourses.co.uk/index.htm

I just wanted to share with everyone on the HCC my experiences w/Bill Tippit.

I called to ask some questions and to purchase a last yesterday and he spent a good hour with me on the phone advising, educating and discussing.

I learned a great deal about last making and measuring from a last maker's perspective. He helped me choose the correct last size based on the measurements that I gave him.

In all it was a pleasant and informative experience. One that I would gladly repeat.

I am not trying to promote anyone's services here but there seems to be less folks out there that are willing to take the time with the small timers and I wanted to share an experience of someone who is.

Thanks for listening.

Mark

Mark,

Yes, Bill Tippit is one of the truely good guys in the Trade.

That said, I will always recommend folks who deal straight...that's what this forum is, in part, about. And I will at times critisize companies who are unresponsive or difficult to deal with.

Just as I would not want to go blind into a transaction with any company, good or bad, if a friend or member of this community had info that would prevent me having a problem, so too I would not want anyone to waste time and money if I knew something that might affect their decision.

We are a small...minute, even...piece of the business, especially individually. We only make an impact, as far as changing the quality being offered or the responsiveness to a customer, when we work together.

When someone asks me for an address or a contact, I always caution them to mention my name when speaking to the company. Not to glorify myself but to firmly establish the perception in the mind of the business that treating one of us well will result in more orders and that treating one of us badly is the same as treating all of us badly. In the aggregate we do represent something of a force...we do have some purchasing power, if you want. But only in the aggregate.

And all that said, sometimes I will be mistaken and I stand ready to withdraw my support or reinforce it at any time. Things change. Sometimes it's neither the fault of the supplier nor the fault of those who recommend a product. It simply is. It seems to me, that we have to be quick and agile to survive in the market as it now stand.


Anyway, thanks for commending Bill...I'm sure he appreciates it and I know I do.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

Amen to that.
Tom

Since there is not category for shameless self promotion I'll post here, Emmett feel free to move this if there is a more appropriate topic. First of all I like to introduce my new web site www.EuroShoe-Boston.com. It still needs a couple more pictures and I want to go more in depth on the products but for now I'm quite proud that it's finally up an running.

The second part of the post is more business related and possibly of interest to those having or considering a website for their business; Google is now offering free web sites and free hosting. It comes with easy to use templates and you can choose to use it with or without your own domain name (www.something.com will cost you about $ 10 a year) No computer programing experience necessary, if you can figure out how to use the icons on the forum you're over educated for this easy to use setup. It comes with email, calendar and more. For those interested check out the link on the bottom of on my link page.

Rob

I don't know if this Of interest... or not, but it seems like a good place to put it.

I just returned from spending the last five days in Phoenix AZ. at a Western festival. I had a booth there and was set up to demonstrate.







Boy that was some work to set up. But it worked really well! I had recently bought the 29-4 Patcher. Beautiful scroll work still plain to see. It got comments all weekend.
But though it was a patcher, being treadle operated, I thought I'd see how a pair of boots would look made on one. So Wednesday I cut out parts, and skived and assembled them. On Thursday, I spent the day sittin' there just a treadlin' away.



Not bad. Not good, of course, but people said that old thing about how it shows it's hand made (as if that's a concellation). My 31-15 is way better, of course, and actually it's mounted on a treadle table. It just needs a wheel and axel, and it'd be ready for remote operation also.



But the patcher hung up a bit in a couple of places, and there was a woog when the stitch line should have wagged. But only in a couple of places. The stitch pattern was a modification of an old Olathe pattern with a single line of stitches. So I thought I could get away with a size 69 thread. This is gray thread on black calf.







Thursday night I stopped at my shop and side seamed them. The next morning, Friday I soaked them before I left for the show and had them lasted by the end of the day. Saturday, I wiped the heel and set up my toe boxes, and then yesterday I shaped them. And that's where I ran out of time. I was ready.
I did more talking yesterday than the others, but there was really not as big a crowd as one would like to see at these affairs, but it was pretty hot, about 100 degrees. So that probably kept a few sensible folks away.



These were made on a JV size 3 last, and to be honest, I'm not sure the last will come out. I know, we'll see. The throat just looks so small on these. I didn't get them treed as much as I'd like, so maybe it's just a visual.



But a real fun experience after all was said on done. People asked me who I was making them for. Nobody really, and size 3 will be like looking for Cinderella to sell them too later. but my little Gracie Beth (1st grand child) will pass through this size in a few years. Maybe she'll like 'em.



I'll bring them to the AGM.

Back to practicin'.

PK

Paul,

Great booth! Man, you're set up for going to shows. Love your bench, too!

I used to drag my 31 class machine and my workbench to shows and do demos. I did demos in Sun Valley three years running for a very wealthy crowd. The overall attendance was small but every pair ordered ended up being four or five times the price of a basic boot.

I used to give seminars at a fairly well known show in exchange for a booth and a room. But even though my seminars were well attended, the manager of the show decided he would make more money if he gave me a cut of the gate and charged me for the booth. So I quit offering. Never did like shows that were wholly commercial anyway.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

DW,

Thank you for the compliments.

That's your bench design. The father of a leather friend made it for me. I used your drawing from the old Shoe Service magazine articles that you did way back, and which I've carried around all these years. It assembles with water bed clips. Here's close up of the bench.



I'll have to get pics of the clips later. You had told me you wished you had made yours easier to disassemble. I went from there. I'm glad you like it.

I really had a good time demonstrating. I ought to look into getting a wheel for my 31-15 just because I don't want to apologize for the stitch all the time. We'll see.

I'll get lots of practice demonstrating if all goes according to plan. This producer is doing a series of seven shows the third weekend of every month, Nov-May. I've already expressed an interest. More to come on that.

And showing up repeatedly for the same crowd, should get some of those folks to take their boots off and and place an order. That too remains to be seen.

Thanks again,

PK

An other one bites the dust.
WSJ article on Otabo relocating it's production from Florida to China
Don't know how long it will be available without a subscription to the Wall Street Journal.

And then there's this: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5DB1F3DF932A1575BC0A96695826 0&sec=&spon=

Dear Administrator: I am posting this message again since I have been advised that the info is more approproiate to The Town Crier forum as opposed to the Traveling section. Edward Andrews

New ladies luxury shoe exhibition at Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC:

There is an excellent new shoe exhibtion at Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC of the shoes of the French designer, Christian Louboutin. It only runs to April 13. See below for more details. Go the Fashion Institute of Technology's museum website for more detail and photos.

I think that it would be a shame if some other shoe museum or fashion museum in another part of the US or world were to not also take this exhibtion from FIT and show it as a traveling exhibtion. Right now, the exhibitor, Fashion Institute of Technology of NYC, has no plans to travel the exhibition. I believe that FIT would entertain this idea. I contacted the Bata Shoe Museum about the possibility, but it responded that they are booked through 2011.

If someone thinks this is a good idea and has contacts, you may want to pursue the idea with another museum.

Edward Andrews

"Sole Desire: the Shoes of Christian Louboutin"
March 13 - April 19, 2008
Fashion Institute of Technology

Sole Desire: The Shoes of Christian Louboutin explores the work of this contemporary luxury shoe designer, known for his exquisite and expensive footwear featuring eye-catching red soles. The exhibition will examine Louboutin’s inspirations, which range from gardens to bullfighters to fetish imagery, as well as investigating the explosive popularity of his shoes in today's unprecedented climate of celebrity influence.