Cheesy Feet (geddit?)

I love 'Art' shoes, that is - shoes that aren't really shoes as such but are made for artistic purposes. Fashion Student Lisa Dillon has made some high heeled shoes out of cheese (yup, cheese you read this correctly).

More here, http://www.stylelist.com/2011/04/15/shoe-made-of-cheddar-cheese-sandwiches/

Micam Time again!

I'm booked on the Redeye from Heathrow to Milan tomorrow, for my biannual visit to the Micam fair. Micam is one of the most important footwear fairs in the world and is the fair if you are interested in fashion shoes.

It is held every March and September in the Fiera Milano, which is based outside of the city near Malpensa airport.

So why should a freelance footwear designer attend a footwear show? Well....

This is the most important fair for me. I occasionally attend other shows, but I never miss this one. I meet clients who manufacture in Italy, it's an easy way of speaking to the factories that we work with because they all have exhibition booths at the show, they usually have samples ready to show us, so we can try them on and make any adjustments while we are there. I also cover the show for clients who are too busy to attend, I go and meet their suppliers and make sample selections, then in the evening after the show, I email the photos and prices to their office.

I network with people I know, it's a good way of catching up, especially with friends in the trade who live abroad, we only see each other because we both attend.

I meet potential new clients, who have seen that I am visiting the show from reading my website.

I visit the shoe factories that I know and we exchange information and ideas.

I buy lots of fashion magazines, particularly trade press that might be difficult to buy back in London.

I also walk the fair looking for new trends, I visit the vintage section in the bag show (Mipel) because it is usually a great place to get ideas and I visit Milans shops, to check out trends there.

So it's a really busy show for me.

But there are some fun bits, I always stay with my friend and fellow Buddhist Paola. She is an artist and I sleep surrounded by huge and quite dramatic pop art paintings! Then there is the British Footwear Association Party - always great fun and the UK shoe trade get on together like a house on fire, we love to catch up with each other.

Then the shopping, ooooh the shopping. I usually come back with a pair of shoes and something from my favourite store 10 Corso Como, but being a keen cook, I can't resist wasting time in the cooking dept of La Rinascente department store - this is another amazing store if you visit!

Then finally, being a boater I always visit the Navigli Area, the canal area, which always makes me appreciate the canals in the UK, because they just don't treasure the canals in Milan, which is sad.

If you ever visit the Navigli area of Milan, look out for the little old ice cream shop between where the two canals meet. It is fabulous inside, wooden carved cabinets with glass etched doors and lots of polished brass. And very nice ice cream. This area of town is also good for eating out.

Image for this post was borrowed from the Micam website which is here http://www.micamonline.com/micam/main.nsf/openSezione?openagent&sezione=MICAM0AA68

Fashion Fringe UK Shoe Design Competition.

This is pretty much the Footwear Designer competition of the year (the other one being the Footwear Friends Award) and has been won in the past by fantastic new shoe designers who went on to become well known and successful in their field.

This year Fashion Fringe have partnered with Bruno Frisoni, who will alos be judging the entries and the top prize is a six months apprenticeship with him, working on the Roger Vivier line in Paris. So a fantastic not to be missed opportunity.

Applications for the 2011 awards are now open. http://www.fashionfringe.co.uk/accessories/

Image courtesy of www.stylefrizz.com Bruno Frisoni for Roger Vivier

Just to add: it has been drawn to my attention that there are shoe design 'competitions' out there that may not be what they seem. Please be careful. Do not enter any competition that requests that you to pay them money to enter. Be sure of who you are dealing with. No genuine shoe design competition that I have ever seen has demanded money. The competition should be about your talent and not about how much you can afford to pay.

Burglar Identified by his Hello Kitty Sandals

I used to design Footwear for the Hello Kitty license, the highlight being a trip to the Sanrio Headquarters in Germany, where we had coffee from a pink Hello Kitty coffee machine and we drank out of Hello Kitty mugs!

So when I saw this story I had to laugh. In Japan and other parts of Asia, it's not considered odd for men to like Hello Kitty. Infact I've sat in many a boardroom meeting besuited executives and smiled when they produce Hello Kitty stationery from their briefcase!

So, I read this story on Anime News Network a burglar in Japan has been identified by his pink Hello Kitty sandals. It sure beats the Reebok Classic which is the boring choice of villains in the UK!

Ok it's still January, but......

I've already got a favourite shoe of the summer. Ok, there have been kazillions of fruit themed shoes in the past, but I really love this one by Charlotte Olympia. I just love the proportions - funny and sexy at the same time. I think there must be an unwritten rule that if you are shoe designer with Brazilian heritage, you MUST create a fruit shoe or people will be very disappointed.

Can be bought via Luisa Via Roma, the link is currently down, but you can find the info here:

http://www.polyvore.com/charlotte_olympia_shoes/shop?brand=Charlotte+Olympia&category_id=41

Shoe related Boats #2

The previous post reminded me of other shoe inspired boats. I'm going to dedicate this post to the memory of Thames boat builder Peter Freebody. Here is one of his slipper launches.

If you want a slipper launch of your very own follow the link http://www.peterfreebody.com/slipper_launch_for_sale.php

Shoe related boats #1

Now as some of you may know (and some of you may not), I'm a liveaboard boater, so I think about boats almost as much as I think about shoes.

If I weren't on the Inland Waterways in my narrowboat, I'd love to learn to sail. I found this Puma yacht online and it's for sale. But I don't think I'd get something with a keel like this up the River Lee (where my marina is).

If you have a fortune to spare, go here for more info. http://www.pumavolvo70forsale.com/index.html