Disclaimer: This post contains a very old attempt at shoemaking, during the very beginning of my journey. I really didn’t know what I was doing at this time, and the post is left online for archive purposes only. Please do not “learn” anything from it, as the post is certainly riddled with mistakes. It’s just a documentation on some of my thoughts as a beginner in this venture. For a more updated view of my shoemaking, please see my latest posts instead.

Born out of the four elements and apeiron, Lisa is ready to walk the earth.

Only hand-held tools were used in production. This post is a display of the finished shoes – in the construction article I describe how they were made.

Here’s a shot from another angle:

And a close up:

I dyed the visible part of the outsoles pink to complement the design:

And here they are in the wild, on the feet of the recipient:

Posing together with the handbag “Lisa“, made to match:

Specs:

Construction: handmade with hand-held tools, English welted
Last: Vintage C. Behrens Alfeld Schutzmarke, off German ebay, size 41
Uppers: 4 oz black calf + 3 oz brush-off pink calf
Lining: 2 oz vegetable tanned crust baby calf
Top beads: 1 oz chrome tanned baby calf, black
Tongues: 3 oz brush-off black calf
Insoles: 12-13 oz vegetable tanned crust calf butt
Sockliner: 4 oz vegetable tanned crust calf side
Outsoles: 9-10 oz vegetable tanned calf butt
Stick-on soles: Vibram 1.8 mm
Toe/heel stiffeners:  4 oz vegetable tanned split calf side
Rand/welt combo piece: 5 oz vegetable tanned crust shoulder
Second rand: 5-6 oz vegetable tanned split shoulder
Shank: Metal
Heel lifts: 12-13 oz vegetable tanned crust calf butt
Top lifts: vegetable tanned (1/4 rubber) J. Rendenbach

And that’s a new personal record: 12 different types of leather used (including the top lifts).