All Things Mochi!

The summer is ALL about espadrilles, be it wedges or flats; so my first recommendation for you guys is to head straight to all things Mochi! Im totally obsessed with them. They not only have beautifully embroidered footwear but clothing and accessories too. They primarily focus on bright colours in embroidery and one of a kind pieces. They celebrate handcrafted products from local artisans that specialise in embroidered textiles and craftsmanship from all over the world, including India and Africa, their products in my opinion do so well because they have adopted modern aesthetics with western silhouettes and styles that highlight just how amazing the skill involved is. Mochi has to be your first port of call for your summer wardrobe!

10 Day Challenge...so far

This whole week has been about making and designing. By Wednesday I had 4 shoes designed but hadn't quite settled on the two pairs of heels I wanted to make. I had just about figured the choice of leathers I wanted to use on the footwear and went about making the first few designs because I'm queen of procrastination and didn't want the fact that I couldn't figure out the last few designs to stop me from making. So with nerves and apprehension I present to you my first few steps of my collection so far. (This is only a working project to get me training so the collection isn't quite cohesive but I have tried my best to keep the collection looking like a range!)

Espadrilles

I managed to finish off these espadrilles last week while having Drake One Dance on repeat, a song thats getting me totally ready for the summer. Even though Friday and Saturday were pretty miserable last week was pretty warm and I feel confident in getting these out and ready to wear for casual wear. I have styled them with a pair of skinny jeans and baggy jeans so that you can see how versatile they can be. Especially for the spring where it isn't quite hot but can definitely pass for the weather we have in London. Making them was quite time consuming but totally worth the outcome, so I thought why not get them out early in preparation for summer?! I've been on a bit of making spree this week, I've made the clutch bag in this series of pictures too, im totally in love with rose gold fittings at the moment especially this zipper that has gorgeous zipper teeth. For more on this product head to my @madebykirenmodi instagram!

Timing for making this product was pretty sweet, I have been invited to take part in a fare which will be held at the Darren Baker Gallery, in London on Saturday 23rd April 2016. I will be exhibiting some of my footwear and accessory products, where you will be able to customise and purchase your own order and see what I do. You're all welcome to come along as there will be other exhibitors there too. If you wish to come along please send your full names to madebykirenmodi@outlook.com to be put on the guest list.

Date:

Saturday 23rd April 2016

Location: 

Darren Baker Gallery, 81 Charlotte Street, London W1T 4PP

Time: 

11am - 4pm

Nearest Tube: 

Great Portland Street, Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Circus

Guest List Entry: 

Email full names to: madebykirenmodi@outlook.com so that I can add you to the guest list.

Espadrille Mania

The 11th of April was the beginning of my USA holiday count down. With 2 months to go (yes I know the count down has started early! Im just super excited to get back into some sun!) I have decided to plan my footwear, especially the ones I want to make. I know that espadrilles are huge hit in the summer, and with new trends always changing the style of them, I thought now would be the best time to get started. (the stitching is always time consuming) Yesterday I did just that, I started by designing the patterns and cutting them out and then on to the stitching. I took a few shots along the way, so you could see how its done! Enjoy!

Espadrille DIY

Yes, you may recognise these espadrilles from a previous DIY I did just before my trip to India in February and yes you are seeing double. I always buy shoes that I know I will get a good wear out of (or if they're a bargain) twice. The second pair have been through general wear and tear through the daily commute - since they're an off white colour I was expecting them to get dirty quickly, hence the two pairs. They're far too comfortable to throw away so I've decided to inject some life back into them by up-cycling them with some metallic leather I had laying around. Heres how I did it;

What you need: 

• Leather 
• Silver pen (or any pen that shows on the leather or material you are using)
• Fabric Scissors
• Aquilim (non toxic footwear glue)
• Brush

1. With the Aquilim glue cover the entire surface that you intend to cover with the new leather on your shoe (Leave the glue to get slight tacky)

2. Once the glue has got slightly tacky place the leather over the top of the glued surface, rub down air bubbles and make sure the entire surface is covered with leather. Using a silver pen outline where the leather should be trimmed to allow for neat edges.

3. When you are happy with the silver pen marks, peel back the leather (dont worry to much - this particular glue is a contact adhesive so both surfaces have to be glued to insure a secure bond between the two materials) and cut around the silver lines you have drawn.

 

4. Using the Aquilim glue, cover the shoe surface (again! - as peeling back the leather would have removed the glue) and the leather and leave both of the surfaces to dry for a couple of minutes.

5. Place the leather onto the shoe and gently guide and stretch the leather into place (leather is an extremely malleable material so don't worry to much the leather does sometimes shrink when combined with the glue - a gentle tug will put that right back into place) Line up the sides and be sure to rub the air bubbles out. If there are some areas that have impossible areas with crease just peal the leather back and lay it over again - do this until you're happy with the outcome!

6. with the excess leather simply trim these areas down and fold them under. Remember to glue both of the sides you are sticking together to insure you have a secure bond.

7. aaaaaannnnnddddd they're ready to wear!