The Internship Diary 
(Weeks 1-4)






As soon as I decided that I wanted to embark upon a career in footwear I inevitably hit the ground running and began designing seriously (the doodling I used to do as a teen and in my spare time became more technically refined and less sketchy) - I had to make up for all the lost time trying to decide on what I wanted to do as a full time job. I started taking some courses and researching into footwear in a way I had never done before. Understanding manufacture, the elements of a shoe, designers, themes, qualities of leather and quite frankly things I had never even thought about when I put on a pair of shoes for example, heel heights, patterns, contact adhesives, machinery - and the list goes on. 

In comes footwear school 'I Can Make Shoes'. In a nutshell this place is a dream to work in! I have been interning there for just shy of a month and have already picked up so much. I never thought I'd find a career that incorporated everything I loved about fashion and design, I knew I always loved making things with my hands, (I was always fully immersed in the art & design scene as well as the fashion from modeling)  and this internship did just that. I've been learning the process of  hand making shoes, essentially understanding the anatomy of a shoe and how all the parts work together to make a functioning shoe. 

I have met some really interesting people along the way and I have to say one of the most exciting parts of this whole experience was searching for leather. This for me is where the designs come to life. On Wednesday I was taken to 2 leather merchants in Northampton, I was totally in my element. I had no idea leathers existed in the abundance we saw them in and in so many different shades and colours. I was informed that fashion heavy weights like Victoria Beckham, Vivienne Westood and amazingly Kanye West all sourced their leathers from one of the merchants we visited, it was then that I had realised I was in the presence of leather royalty. I was able to buy leathers for my own range/practice and explore to see what's available. I was in Leather Heaven! So that you get an idea of the sheer expanse of these factory units I have uploaded a small video on the high heels high hopes youtube channel. Below are some of the pics I took while I was at one of the leather merchants from my phone (sorry completley forgot to take my professional camera)

Stay tuned for more updates on how my internship is going!








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