We hope that the lubricating revelations of last week left you with a smile on your face...particularly the illustrative photo!
This week's post continues with a light note...
First the heady subject of inspiration and design...James and I are doing more and more design work for both bespoke and design consultancy clients ...and we really enjoy the challenge of it. Like Mies van der Rohe, we believe in "less is more" and that "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication".
"It takes a lot of hard work to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions". Steve Jobs
So whilst we try to bring new material combinations, innovations, colour trends and heel heights / sole depths / toe shapes to bear, to give our men's shoe designs a fresh look, we bring to bear our expertise as West End shoemakers.
Like most designers we are reinterpreting classic styles...
- Louboutin and YSL's red soles echo the red heels worn by aristocrats during the reign of Louis XIV (I wonder if any of our customers would like to try red heels as a status symbol?)
- Lightweight slip-ons worn outdoors today are inspired by the gentleman's monogram house slipper
...And boots are inspired by the galoshes and spats of the early 1900s...
CD button boots
Talking of collaborations, what seems a lifetime ago James and I did a bit of 'acting'.
We thought the results would never make it on-screen but one of the actors from the commercial dropped by this week and low and behold here we are on You Tube (I'm sure our contract said internal use only!!!!!). Anyway, take a look...we'll let you know if Hollywood comes knocking!
And finally, to finish on an even lighter note, below is the best business card I've ever seen...great product; great company; great confidence and humour! (The owners details have been concealed for security).
It's actually been a very very busy week of shoe making, so look out for the results of our hours at the bench in next week's post. Until then happy shoemaking!
