YouTube video of Peter Prince making shoes and discussing his work
Notes
- last build-up with leather over wood
-
What Nicks is…Nicks thought he was an 11, but he’s not. He’s a 10½, really. But it’s is his width that makes him have to wear an 11. That’s why his shoes always curl up at the front and crease across the toe, because they’re too big for him in the length.
- nails down the bubbles
- easier to make shoes for people you know, since know the demands on their shoes
- leather because breathable
- “second skin”
- unlike other clothing, shoes retain the shape of you
- clicked pieces laid out, upper and lining
- 24 pieces total
- insole {{blocking} by hand with knife
- long line finisher
- mainly self-taught, but went to meet Ken Dawnson
- still learning all the time, never stop
- visits every week, now 78, still making shoes
- “we’ll end up taking him out in a big shoebox”
- “something that I have to do”
- leather forgiving, stretchy
- making by eye
- “pull it onto the last until it looks right”
- hard part is making two the same
- lasting
- toe shaping with a leather toe puff
- biggest challenge: fit
- “God, are they gonna fit?”
- bespoke: can have anything you want