Call us what you will. Engineers, inventors, shoe makers, hobbyists. This page on my site is dedicated to those who are taking that step, or just beginning to take that step into the hobby of making custom boots and shoes in their basements and garages.
[Update] I would like to emphasize HOBBY here. If you’re a professional shoe or boot maker, you will have your own list of challenges to face. As a hobbyist we too have challenges, but no where near what a pro has to deal with. My blog isn’t here to jeopardize the methods and processes by which a professional boot or shoe is manufactured. The purpose of EGCSkates is to illustrate and discuss my own methods, discoveries and experiments in relation to making shoes and boots. There’s no reason why anyone can’t pick up the materials and craft their own boots in their garage.
The boot and shoe making industry is enormous. What single piece of clothing does everyone wear and own several of? Shoes of course. We have shoes for sports, as formal wear, for work, for pleasure, for the beach. There’s a shoe for almost every situation you can think of. So why are there so few amateur shoe makers?
I’m not even going to attempt to answer that question, but I will offer an observation. My initial investigation into hobby boot and shoe makers turned up very little in the Toronto area. I found websites for custom shoe makers, sandal makers, and theatrical shoes, but that’s about it. There was one person in Toronto and she taught shoe making, but only one! The store is long since gone and the shoe maker is no longer in business, but her website remains.
None of the local colleges even remotely teach this kind of thing and the books I found were either collectables, antiques or leftover stock out of print. Fortunately for me, Toronto is one of those cities that love their shoes. I found the Bata Shoe Museum to be a source of information and an opportunity to do some networking.
Other sources I found were from the USA.
Below I’ve listed in alphabetical order a list of information websites that I’ve found which contain bits of information that you can use to get started on your boot or shoe project. As I mentioned in one of my blog postings there are several key industries you want to contact for your supplies:
- Marine Supply - any kind of store that specializes in selling repair or boat construction supplies will have fiberglass, resins and carbon fiber. Many also have specialty tools and components that you may find useful during the construction of your boot or shoe.
- Leather Supply - this is not an overly competitive industry, so there are not a lot of them around. In north America, the biggest known retailer is the Tandy Leather Factory. You can also find many shoe findings at Tandy. If you’re still looking on the web or other directory the industry term for shoe parts is shoe findings. These include eyelets, buckles, straps, rivets, sewing supplies, glues, leathercrafting tools, etc.
- Medical Supply - this is one place where you can get prosthetic supplies like foams, splints, casting supplies, laytex gloves, protective clothing, etc. I have since found that a dedicated prosthetics supplier is better and knows more about making shoes than a medical supply. I also found that casting is much more expensive here. Medical supply shops also don’t typically stock or sell Orthopedic casting bandages, which cure harder and smoother than the medical grade or artist supply plaster.
- Artist Supply - you can get crafting and carving tools here. Also casting, molding and lastmaking supplies can be purchased here. My local art stores carry several kinds of casting bandages which I’ve tried. The problem I had was that the cloth of the bandage was too thin and difficult to work with. The plaster quality is also lower. I purchased a plaster/wood file kit from here to help shape the lasts.
- Prosthetics Supply - my Chiropractor and a fellow long track speed skater, introduced me to their orthotic’s supplier - National Shoe. In order to buy from them, I had to set myself up as a business. They don’t sell to the public. This is an almost one stop shop for shoe making supplies. They had everything. From the Orthopedic casting to the rubber soling materials. I buy my Evalite foam, Dacron webbing, shoe tacks, lasting pincers, hammers, thermoplastics and all casting supplies from them.
Websites and Sources
Shoemaking:
http://www.roteringshoes.com/ - A Toronto Area shoe maker and teacher. No longer in operation, but the website provides a few bits of information. You can also view a gallery of her work - lots of great stuff to see.
http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/ - The Bata Shoe Museum is a great place to visit and learn about shoes. There isn’t much there for the shoe maker but if you ask around and read between the lines, you’ll find some interesting information. Occasionally, guest speakers will shoe up that have talks on shoe/boot making.
http://www.thehcc.org/ - The Honourable Cordwainers’ Company. Founded in 1984 by a small group of shoemakers and historians, the H.C.C. is a modern guild, having drawn up its charter in 1985. In 1987 the HCC incorporated as a non-profit, tax-exempt educational organization in the state of Virginia, the home of America’s first shoemakers. The HCC is a steadily growing international membership of men and women, actively discovering and preserving the practical skills, technology and history of boot and shoemaking and its allied trades. Some free books are available for download. More when you sign up.
Speed Boots:
Me!!! - EGCSkates is a garage community website, dedicated to the art, craft and technology of handmade boots and shoes. I discuss all about my production methods and share interesting articles and bits of information about how to make your own shoes, boots and skates. I’m all about the bling-bling when it comes to shoes and skating.
http://www.fama-skates.blogspot.com/ - Peter Laubsch is from Germany (I think) and is a student of industrial engineering. His blog is called FAMA-SKATES. Check out his boot project and photos of his prototype. Hasn’t been updated in a while… where are you Peter - we want to see more of your work!
http://jdwatton.blogspot.com/ - JD Watton is a short track speed skater from Pittsburg. In his recently started boot project, he is on a quest to build a pair of speed skating boots. He has recently completed a fantastic carbon-fiber figure skate for his daughter.
Professional Bootmakers and Manufacturers:
Apex Racing - Custom boots by Mathieu Turcotte, Olympic Medalist, Orthesist and Prosthesist. Very popular amongst short track speed skaters. Used by many in the short track world cup and many Olympians. Made in Canada.
Bont - Custom and Stock boots by Inze Bont. One of the worlds largest speed boot manufacturers. Very popular amongst inline speed skaters. Used by many short track skaters at the club level. Simple and quick casting method. Convenient to purchase and high availability. Good custom warrantee. Also offers bicycle shoes, clothing and speed related hardware. Designed in Australia, made in China. Used by many inline world champions.
Lafond - Custom and Stock boots. Popular in Quebec amongst short track speed skaters. Lafond is a Orthesist and Prosthesist who has been making boots for over 10 years. I’ve handled his boots and they are very well made and finished. Toronto area rep - ELI LEE, 416-223-8261 or send him an email at eli_lee[at]sympatico[dot]com. Made in Canada.
Lewis Composites - Custom boots based in Calgary. Popular amongst the skaters in close proximity to the oval in Calgary. Made in Canada.
Luigino - one of the best looking inline boots on the market. Luigino comes from a country known for it’s shoe making heritage. Used by many world inline champions. Made in Italy.
Marchese Racing - the defacto standard in long and short track ice boots. One of the best looking ice boots on the market. Handcrafted by Marchese with some help by a few family members and employees. Many Olympic and world cup medals won. Made in the USA.
PASS - Pass Atlantic Skating Shoes. Quite popular amongst the club skaters in Southern Ontario. High quality, light weight short track speed boot. Most well known in the short track ice community. Made in Canada.
RBC Australia - handmade boots from Australia. Most well known amongst the short track and long track ice community. Funky designs for ST, LT and more recently, inline.
SD Skates - Made in Korea. Very popular amongst short track. You’ll see them on many of the top short track teams around the world cup.
SEB - from Montreal, Canada. Sebastien et Brian. Most well known for their inline boots.
Simmons Racing - Made in the USA. Very (and I mean VERY) popular with the inline community. Considered by many to be one of the best inline boots on the market. Chad Hedrick started his career on a pair of Simmons, both on inline AND on the ice.
SS Boots - Made in the USA. A short track skater since 1969, Bruce Kohen developed SSBoots from his garage into an internationally recognized business. Full custom only. SS is known for their stylish upper finishes, rock solid bases and funky patterns. Best known for being THE boot used by world champion and Olympic medalist, Apollo Ohno.
Van Horne - Made in Canada. Most recognized in long track. Many international medals won. Website has not been updated in a while.
Viking - In one word, classic. Best known speed skate in the world. Huge numbers of world championships, Olympic and international medals. Made in Holland. Most popular amongst long track.
*** In the days ahead - I’ll be expanding this section to include more sources, links and websites. Please stay tuned!
