Shoes and Craft

I started to work on my book. I would say, this is not perfectly new, as I already started to work on it at least twice, but this time there are some differences. I don’t have anything to distract my attention from it and I have a lot of possibilities (like cool Wacom tablets, huge scanners, cheap offers to print a book, helpful people who can help to translate my English to real English etc.) around me. This time it will work.

I made already a long list of topics I want include, but feel free to suggest me some.

Have you ever tried to collect your shoemaking stuff into one bag, and make shoes somewhere else? Let me tell you something: you will forget something at home, that’s for sure. Just a little thing, that you just use once per week, maybe twice, but essential. I came here with a full bag of tools, and i already miss some of my stuff from the wall, from a a secret corner, from a deep end of a drawer.. And haven’t even mentioned the supplies.
I didn’t bring any supplies here. I wish I did. I never have thought that this would be this hard. First, I don’t have a car (so I’m practically handicapped), second I don’t have a lot of money… Somehow “finders” think that shoemakers (enthusiastic hobby-shoemakers) are very rich people. Well, not this one. I’ve been living in a hotel for a month now, I need to pay all of my costs in Hungary, so I have very limited amounts to purchase stuff. And anyway, prices are insane, when it gets to supplies. I mean unreasonably insane.

I started to teach – already jumped to deep water, as we say in Hungary, and I must tell you it is not easy, but very rewarding. “there are good moments” as one my colleague said.

Hey! I didn’t think that pattern could generate this much interest! Thanks for this and for not leaving me when I wasn’t so active. My hits are around 7-800, which is amazing. Thanks guys! Stay with me, the next one will be a pair of pumps! (then hopefully something easy-to-follow for beginners. You will love it, I promise)

Well, this is what I can write about, since I practically don’t have any workshop (OK, this is not quite true – I have 2 in the University, and my own at home… far away). Does this fact holds me back from spending every minute with shoes? Of course not! So what can I do without my workshop?

So as I have already informed you, I decided to keep one single course this year in Hungary. Mow we have details:

Intensive Apprenticeship Course, Budapest 2011
28. November – 9. December (10 days, without weekend)
Subject: basic men or women shoe construction full hands on,
limited or no hands on: upper pattern construction, upper making, design
I accept only a few students (be quick, my course are usually full)
Students can keep the shoes.

The course costs 1490 USD, deposit is 750 (non refundable)

If you are interested, plese contact me at info@koronya.com

As you probably have heard, I accepted a job offer in the United States to teach footwear design, prototyping…and so on. Basically everything about shoes. Well, this project is going right now. We arrived to Savannah 5 days ago, and although my contract hasn’t started yet, I couldn’t stand to go into the faculty and do what I can. For confidential reasons, I can’t give details what I suggested to change/buy/do differently, let’s just say: a lot.

What about my professional life? Does it slow me down? Well, maybe a little bit, so my competitors can celebrate a bit…but not for long. I am still a master shoemaker, I still keep courses (next one’s in November), I still work on my RTW shoes (frankly this project suffers the most because of my job, but also has some advantages: I will have more time to design and I will have more contacts. If you put these two together, and finally I can put my name to the map. Not on the bespoke makers’ map – I believe I have a strong position over there, but generally the shoe manufacturer’s one, and that is something. Without saying anything in specific,  let’s just leave it as a surprise. A major one.