Custom Renaissance Boots

Another New shoe Designer

admin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:59:46 +0000

Two years ago we made a pair of whimsical purple and silver demi-boots for a young lady I met at the Great Western War. Last year her sister came with the same request, but for a pair of riding boots that she could wear for SCA events. We did a bi-color boot with a suede cuff and added a Medieval arrow as the detail around the cuff. She chose black and green for the boot, black suede for the cuff and we appliqued the arrows around the cuff in cream.

Black and Green Riding boots

cuff detail

Our young customer was very pleased with the way her design turned out. I’m hoping to see her at May War in Potrero and get a picture.

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16th Century Woman’s Slipper

admin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:34:41 +0000

We were asked for a middle class slipper for a Renaissance fair merchant that would be comfortable at the outdoor event that she worked. She wanted a modified Mary Jane with the tongue and high sides to keep the dirt out of her shoes. To keep the strap from working it’s way under the tongue as she walked, we threaded it through the tongue, added a little height to the heel to be more stylish and comfortable. We’ll know in a couple of weeks whether we met all the requirements when the fair starts.

middle class Renaissance slipper

These could even be made in a man’s size.

New Shoe Designer

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:41:38 +0000

A very nice young lady stopped at my booth at the Great Western War last October and quizzed me about my footwear. We had a nice chat and she went on her way. Early in December, I received a call from her mother asking if I would make her daughter’s design. She had used one of my styles as the starting point and created her own vision. The sketch arrived, we had a conversation about some changes that would make the design more successful after it was made, and I sent her the revision for approval. She wanted a purple and silver creation and the right shade of purple proved to be the major challenge. We finally located a hide close to the color she was asking for and made them up. She’s very happy with them and wears them to school all the time. Her sister’s working on a design for herself. I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes up with.

custom silver and purple boot

Hessian boots for the Old Globe

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:42:29 +0000

Designer's sketch for Hessian boots

We were given this sketch to use to create the military boots for the Old Globe’s summer season. To make them more versatile we were asked to design a way to add a tassel as needed for what ever production they might be used for in the future. We created a channel at the tip of the trim to allow that flexibility.

Finished Hessian boots

These are the finished boots. To keep them close to historically accurate, the toes were made without the stiff boxing giving them a soft front. They really finished off the red, gold and white uniforms. On stage they gleamed.

If this is the year to treat yourself to a pair of historic or fantasy shoes, we can make you something wonderful. Check out the website.

Boots for Star Wars bounty hunter

admin — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 20:59:45 +0000

Star Wars bounty hunter boots

We just finished a translation of the Bouchh boots for a customer who dresses as Princess Leia. Finding a good 360 degree view proved to be a challenge. We knew that the base boot was a popular boots worn at the time but the shin piece that was worn over it was harder to figure out. We put a zipper up the inside of the leg instead of what appeared to be velcro at the back to give it a cleaner look and guessed at the inner leg detail of the ankle strap. The client was very pleased with the end result and will be wearing it to a cancer fund raiser.

Camelot in Pittsburgh

admin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 22:54:39 +0000

The Pittsburgh Public Theater is putting on a performance of Camelot and has commissioned us to make the boots for King Arthur and Lancelot. They sent photos of another performance and asked for the same styles. Because the pictures left a lot to be desired, we made the boots up in vinyl and sent them off. The costume mistress pinned, cut and made additions to get exactly what she has envisioned and we created them. The challenge was to get the slim look she wanted and have them easy to remove and put on in a hurry.

Back view of Lancelot's boot

Cuff detail for Arthur's boot

1920s Slipper Finished

admin — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:05:49 +0000

Finished. delivered and road tested. Or actually dance tested. The flapper dance slipper that we had commissioned late summer was finished and delivered in time for all the holiday parties. The challenge was to re-create the period heel and mold it. It took numerous tried to get just the right angle that would mesh with the current last, but finally came out with a good fit and a sturdy enough resin to take the PSI required. We referenced a designer from the period and then found a nice little detail in a reference book and the combination look wonderful. As you can imagine we held our breaths until after the first party. They made it through that one and several more with ease. I’m hoping for a picture of the entire costume. The next one I’d love to try is Victorian, now that the bugs have been worked out of the system.

Dance slipper from the 1920s

Side view of 1920s slipper

Toe detail with cutouts

Dance slippers from the 1920s

admin — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:41:10 +0000

The slippers that we’ve been working on for a historic dance enthusiast have come back from their last fitting. They really came out very close to the original. Liz has very bad bunions and a toe that never healed correctly after she broke it and has been wearing sandals for years. We customized the last to her needs and the shoes look dainty and very flattering. All that remains is to tweak the heel a little for style and she’ll be dancing at top form. I’ll let you be the judge.

Illustration of a dance slipper fron the 1920s

Dance slipper in process

The new slipper is navy blue and has all the cutouts in the toe and across the back with navy blue suede under the holes.

She’s so excited to have “real” shoes after all the years of sandals that we will be making her a selection of every day shoes as soon as she decides what she would like them to look like.

Another success story – a lady with a skin abnormality that made wearing any kind of shoe very painful. To try to deal with the problem she would just buy larger shoes, which only added blisters to the problem. We went the opposite way and made her correctly fitting shoes out of calf skin, very soft and form fitting. She just let me know that we’ll be making more for her. She walked all day at a Renn. Faire and her feet didn’t hurt. We sure like hearing those stories.

18th Century riding boots

admin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:25:46 +0000

The Old Globe Theater commissioned footwear from us for their summer Shakespeare Festival. They had imported a director from the Royal Shakespeare Company in England with his costume mistress for the shows which gave us a bad case of nerves. It was really interesting and a little intimidating. to get to work with someone who has all the reference samples in her backyard. The new style that we had not done before was the classic two color English riding boot. In case you’re wondering – George III was one of the plays. She was looking for something authentic looking and we accidentally stumbled on to it. The boots were made without the hard toe box for the fittings, which turned out to be exactly the look she was after. The job was completed on time for dress rehearsals and left us all as little breathless. The costume mistress was thrilled – not bad for the colonies. Now it’s time to get back to normal – until the next time.

18th Century English riding boot

18th Century English riding boot with oval toe

Finished Clone Trooper boots

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 02:39:25 +0000

We’ve finished the clone trooper boots, sent them off and got them back. The customer has wanted them to make a larger statement visually to make his feet look more in proportion with the armor. To accomplish that we used a heavier leather, a round toe and added a quarter of an inch to the sole height. Right idea but it tipped over toward the clown shoe look when he put them on. Would have been perfect on a taller person, however …. We are going to go back to a regular last for him and reconstruct the boots. It’s one of those idea that looks good on paper but didn’t translate well.

Boot for Clone Trooper

Toe detail for Clone Trooper boot

The Florida squadron standardized the style for the boot and adds an ABS plastic band across the arch and a piece of ABS plastic “armor” on the top of the toe piece. They make and provide those pieces and we add the snaps so that they can be set in place. The two guys who make them will provide them to anyone wishing to use their design.