My name is Joost, I live in Brussels, Belgium, and I recently decided that I will make my own shoes. I don't know the first thing about it, have no experience nor do I know anybody else who makes shoes. However, I've been frustrated for the largest part in my life because I never could find shoes that suit me as I wear size 52 (something between 16 and 17 in US sizes).
I understand that it will be an uphill battle, but people said I was slightly crazy when I started making my own clothes, and yet as I sit here typing this, most of what I'm wearing I made myself.
I find the efforts you're doing here to keep the trade alive noble and as such I've contributed my 20 dollar to the hcc. It will be a while before I get to making shoes as the first challenge I'm facing is getting shoe lasts made.
I've took a plaster cast of my foot, transformed it into a 3D model with Autodesk's 123DCatch and now I'm using Blender to model a shoelast around it.
I don't know Blender (I'm learning it for this project) nor do I know the first thing about shoe lasts, so this is all a great adventure.
Once done, I will get it 3D printed, and I visited an old woodworker today who can take that plastic shoe last and copy it in wood.
If you see some simpler way of getting to a last, or if you have some existing 3D model of a last I could base mine on, please let me know
![Image](http://www.thehcc.org/forum/images/old_smilies/happy.gif)
love,
Joost