BA (Hons) Cordwainers Footwear: Product Design & Development
I like to think of myself as an aspiring eccentric. Holeing from London but not the cool end, the very middle class Kingston upon Thames. I very much like to do and make things myself and to know how things are made. When I was given the opportunity to study footwear it seemed like one of the most fun things i could do for a degree; I hit things with hammers, use sharp knives that i often slice my thumb open with, there are big machines that pull things and shoot wax from here at there, it appeals to my masculine "hit things" side and i get to create what i design and i love that. I specialize in handsewn Mens footwear occasionally crossing over into womens wear to keep my mother happy, on leaving university I intend to go into practice for myself creating made to order footwear bringing a young design ethos and a little freshness into the very traditional world of handmade footwear, being a young shoe maker myself. This final year collection for me has all been about starting from nothing but flat raw materials and making everything in the shoes myself; from the thread for welting that I make myself to creating the colours for the uppers and dyeing them myself. I have taken inspiration form the beautiful flowing lines of the Art Nouveau movement and it's unified design style and then taking inspiration from humanity its self.