Jamie Nelson

Last week I attended a lecture at RMIT Brunswick where shoe maker, Jamie Nelson was the guest lecturer. An ex-RMIT student, she studied the footwear course at Brunswick while doing an internship at Preston Zly. She has since worked at Birkenstock where she designed a limited edition Melbourne range. Her latest venture has been an eighteenth-month Masters degree which she undertook at the London College of Art.

Aside from having incredible technical knowledge (she was at Preston Zly for five years), Nelson's work is really beautiful. Her Master's collection in particularly amazing. The heels of her shoes are based on a technique common in shoe making that, if I understood correctly, involves using wood and leather to give the illusion of a leather-stacked heel. She chisels out part of her wooden heel and then inserts leather which takes up dye at a different rate to the wood creating this wonderful variation of colour. Her shoes are also decorated with weaving and knotting details.

The concept of her work is very interesting too 'Pretty Boy, Handsome Girl' presents two pairs of shoes that continue into pants, a male version and a female version. Devoid of conventional gender stereotypes the work 'explores the aesthetics of androgyny while referencing narrative of future hybrid asexuality'.

What I took away from the lecture, other than a state of awe and inspiration was also Jamie's comments on artisan shoe making. During question time I asked her where she thought the future of artisan shoes where heading and response was well considered. She said that in Melbourne in particular, she thought there is a strong niche market that will always want something different and special, and is dedicated to supporting artisans. But she also mentioned that after doing her masters where she handmade everything, she would outsource in her own business. Her reason for this was that she felt when she was making everything she was limited creatively because she was constantly designing within the parameters of her skills, the ability to outsource would mean that she could be more experimental.

the improved pattern and the sole, part 2

Thinking that the leather might stretch more to accommodate the sole, I toiled it in leather. I found a new leather machine that is much friendlier than the first one, and the result was a lot neater (it helps when I can operate the machine...).

The sole was still too big. I think I need to shrink it a bit, and perhaps make it less pointed because its looking a bit silly as it is. This is also where my moulded leather comes in. With the toe section of the vamp moulded, the overall appearance of the shoe would be much better. I like the double-layered sole.

the improved pattern and the sole, part 1

I converted the pattern of the shoes I traced on the calico into paper patterns and toiled them again in calico to see that all the pieces fit together, which they did. However, when I attached the sole I found that the sole pattern had grown when it was made in wood and so the shoe upper got a bit stretched...

Fixing the pattern

All of my previous shoe uppers have been a bit wonky, and just not perfect. So its high time I fixed the pattern. I worked out a new, more accurate way of tracing pattern pieces off existing shoes thanks to our good friend Jan Jansen. Using calico to cover the entire shoe, this is how it works:

Once stretched over the shoe the calico can then be drawn on, either tracing the existing design lines of the shoe underneath, as I've done here, or, with a new design.

The calico can then be removed and there are the pieces, just needing a little adjusting and tracing off.

this has been very hard without a sole...

Into the shed to make some soles out of wood.

Using a jigsaw, which I almost got the hand of by the end, I cut out the shape of my sole in a solid piece of pine.

Test 1:

When given the 'walking test' this sole didn't really hold up, literally. Not surprisingly, it didn't move with the foot and that includes lifting off the ground simultaneously with the heel- a big problem because it causes strain on the shoe upper...

I then cut a line just after the arch and before the ball of the foot to create flexibility. Incidently, I snapped the sole just after the heel but decided to trial it anyway and discovered that this extra break in the sole is actually necessary. I used strips of leather to tack the pieces of wood together, in a prototype I would use one single piece, covering the entirety of the sole.

Test 2:

This sole was far more successful in the walking test, quite comfortable too. But I did learn the importance of the break positioning. This must have been not quite right because it pushed my foot off the back of the sole. Also I wonder what would happen to these shoe if you walked over gravel, would stones get stuck?

The next experiment was to join multiple soles together, creating a thick base. Starting with just two, I used wood glue and a clamp to join them. My jig sawing was a little inaccurate so the two soles didn't quite match. But this just meant I had to sand off a bit more in some areas, hopefully I didn't change the shape of the shoe too much...

walking in this shoe was tricky, just like the first experiment but worse. So I cut off the under side of the toe and heel to create more of a boat, rocking-horse like shape. Now they're very reminiscent of Vivienne Westwood's shoes. But quite functional to walk in.

I tried emulating the same technique on a single layer of wood but not only was this really dangerous (on the rotary saw), it did have the same effect because the angle was too small. I even tried chiseling out a section for the ball of the foot, and while this increased comfort it didn't make walking any easier.

Leather Moulding- learning from looking and listening

This is a rather challenging prospect without a shoe last but I've tried it on my trusty shoe keeper and now I know it works - stretching, moulding and 'setting' leather.

At uni:

I experimented with this red leather first just by playing with it, stretching it and moulding it by hand. I had watched a short film on the Hermes website showing a man making gloves, so I copied the way he stretched the leather, anchoring the piece with one hand and pulling it with the other, dragging the leather over the table edge, etc. It worked well and I was surprised at how stretched the leather could become (this realisation worries me a little because I think of what would happen to my shoes if I didn't stretch the leather enough while making them... sloppy brogues...). I put these little wrinkles in at uni just to see, I like the effect but I'm not sure whether there is room for it in my collection...

At home:

I tested the technique Aly had told me about in class, which is wetting the leather before stretching it and then sewing it to secure it while the leather dries out. Aside from making a bit of a red mess where the dye leaked, this was a success. I might have over stretched the leather because it became a bit rough in parts; and leather does become quite stiff too but I think this would be a good little technique.

I'm going to go back to the library to find out more.