The Traveling Notebook of Shoe Makers

Chapter 3: Yuji

I was fortunate enough to meet Yuji on my recent trip to NYC when I meet Elizabeth Dunn at the Brooklyn Shoe Space studio, I had been following him on social media for quite some time so it was nice to finally meet him in person, and see how he works too. In short I was blown away by his skill and workmanship. A Japanese native Yuji finds comfort working on low tables as he did while working as a shoe maker in Japan so much so that he has a small set up in the studio too. At the time I was at the studio he was hand welting a private commission that he had been working on for a while, - it was a true piece of art work. I can't wait to see what he will be making next - be sure to keep up to date with his work via Instagram, there are some stunning work in progress images to feast your eyes on.

Miss Black and Beautiful Exhibition

Raphael Albert

The weekend gone was set to have beautiful weather, but in true english tradition Saturday and most part of Sunday morning was pretty cloudy and dull, but we didn't let that rain on our parade! The boyfriend and I headed straight out for our day date, which took us first to this awesome new gluten free friendly restaurant - Bird in Shoreditch (of course) where I sunk my teeth into a chicken doughnut - now if you are trying to figure out what that means, in short it was a chicken fillet in an original glazed doughnut. Now hold on before you turn your nose up - this has to be up there in the top rated burgers I've ever had (and I've had a lot). After gorging on food that probably wasn't very good for us we headed to the highlight of my day; the Miss Black and Beautiful exhibition. In light of the recent heart breaking events with the Alton Sterling and Phillando Castille murders, this exhibition couldn't have come at a better time. My heart has felt extremely heavy with sadness watching the updates and news about both these cases along with the hundred's of other similar cases I have been following. I don't often like to air my opinions on such cases but this week I have felt embarrassed to be part of the human race in such a forward thinking world, where (especially in my hometown of London) people of different creeds, races, colour and sexuality's are (in most cases) openly accepted and more over CELEBRATED. The late Raphael Albert's first major solo exhibition at Rivington Place (Shoreditch) presents a number of photographs documenting more than 3 decades of work he had snapped during various black beauty pageants and cultural events he organised in London. The exhibition shouldn't take you any longer than half an hour to get through and is free entry. I urge you to make a visit, its only running for a short time (8th - 24th September) and its the very least we can do to show our support to our black communities that we love and value.

The Book Review: 6/12 June Edition 

Letters to my Fanny

by Cherry Healey

For some this might not a be a book you could openly read on a train simply because of its title, but I felt a wonderful sense of empowerment reading this book whether it was on the train or in bed. You'd assume by the cover and the title that it would sit comfortable in the Chick Lit genre or be a bible for a feminist. I'd say you'd be right about that in some areas of the book but reading past the first few chapters I saw this book as a go to for every woman, feminist or not, for when you are lacking confidence. I say this because with every letter written in this book to which ever part of the body there is a wealth of wisdom, from her experiences as a woman and mother. This is a book celebrating every part of the body, even the bits you may not be happy with. An incredibly easy and enjoyable read peppered with hilarious anecdotes and words of wisdom.

Manolo Blahnik @ Selfridges 

Opening - 11th July 2016

Renders by Nick Leith-Smith Architecture 

Only 5 months ago Manolo Blahnik opened a stand alone store in London's Burlington Arcade and this coming Monday Manolo Blahnik will be opening another store in London's Bond Street department store Selfridges - how very excting. To mark the special occasion an exclusive pair of limited edition shoes have been designed, (a black patent circular detail sandal with white piping) and for every pair sold on the day customers will be handed a framed sketch of the style signed and sealed by Manolo Blahnik himself. He has been one busy man, from opening stores and designing shoes with Rihanna what else does this man have up his sleeve? Whatever it is I'm sure we wont be disappointed! 

The Traveling Notebook of Shoe Makers

Chapter 2: Elizabeth Dunn

I first met Elizabeth when I took on a design course at the I Can Make Shoes studio about a year and a half ago, I was eager to learn and completely immerse myself into the footwear world. I asked her endless questions about the industry and how she got into footwear I was mesmerised by all she had achieved so far. (Making shoes to be later worn by Lady Gaga is a huge acomplishment) Low and behold  a couple months later, I was interning in the very studio she worked from and I was able to see her process from design to an actual pair of shoes. I enjoyed coming into to the studio because there would always be a new product on the horizon that we could all admire. Her design skill and craftsmanship was inspiring,  so when she said she was leaving for NYC I was filled with joy and sadness at the same time, she was so lovely to be around, her personality brightened up the room instantly but I was SO excited for her to be able to fulfil her dreams of moving to NYC to carry on with her own brand and label. (My life long goal too - ONE DAY!!!) So on my trip to NYC I obviously jumped at the opportunity to be able to catch up with her in Williamsburg which is where she now lives and works. The Brooklyn Shoe space based in Williamsburg too, is where Elizabeth produces most of her creations now and I always look forward to seeing her new collections, it makes it all the more worth while knowing she has made each piece herself. Head to her website for more.

Elizabeth's latest collection.

I loved these!

A commission Elizabeth made for a client

Gorgeous handmade Wedding shoes!

Lizzy making a pair of her sandals from her latest collection

Walking around the Studio! I loved this space!

You can imagine what caught my eye! MERMAID LEATHER

The first time Ive seen a skiving machine! 

Lizzy wearing her handmade handbag and sandals!

LOVE!!

#WIW ...on holiday

Since this wasn't a beach holiday I had actually packed outfits that could both be worn during the day and jazzed up by night. Even though I have already posted some of these outfits on Instagram I thought I'd give you a little break down of where I bought them from. In the first week I quickly realised while being there that for the first week the outfits would have to last almost all day even dinner since we were staying around 40mins away from downtown Washington (no point in travelling all the way back to come back in for dinner) which is where we were spending most of our time. It was absolutely boiling so i was able to pull out all my favourite summer outfits, some new and some classics. The second week in NYC was still very hot but definitely had a noticeable chilly wind so there were a few days where it felt more than necessary to wear jeans. At which points I chose my new flare jeans which I sported with a cute white bardot top. An ensemble Im mad about at the moment and cant wait to whip out when the sun decides to come out in London. For most part of the holiday, I ended up wearing a pair of last minute wedged espadrilles that my aunt had bought me from Tesco for £12 with most of my outfits. (They come in blue black and the brown Im wearing)

One piece from River island, Shoes and earings from Primark and vintage leather bag

Top from Petty Coat lane Market, Necklace Zara, Jamie Jeans TopShop, Bag from Spain and Shoes from Tesco

Zara Top, Sainsburys Denim Skirt, Zara Clogs, Vintage Bag and choker from my friend who makes them!

I actually bought this whole outfit from H&M in DC and, all for the bargain price of $10 in the sale! Tesco Shoes...Again

H&m Dress with those Wedges!

Washington DC and New York 

The pictures that didnt quite make Instagram!

So these are the pics that didn't quite make Instagram, but are still super worthy of putting up! As usuals pictures say more than words, so with that said here are the pictures I took in the first week in beautiful DC.

First stop - FOOD!

Reynolds Art and Portrait Gallery

Hiyaa Brad!

Add caption

When your outfit coordinates with the floor!

National Archives

View to Capitol Hill

Can't go to America without having Shake Shack

The Holocaust Memorial Museum

I randomly picked up a card and Fanny Judelowitz a survivor of the Holocaust who's family owned a shoe Factory! - what a coincidence

Snow Cones!

Capitol Hill

Botanical Gardens of DC

The W roof top bar with scrummy food!

Vietnam War Veterans Memorial

Arlington Memorial

The Unknown Heroes Tomb

Changing of the Guard

New York

New York was amazing, this was my third time in the city and since its always been a dream of mine to move out there my opinion of the city is pretty bias. I LOVE the place, the hustle and bustle is what keeps me going and essentially why I could only move there since its very similar to London. Here are some of the pics from the last week of the Holiday.

View from the Top of the Rockefeller Centre!

Central Park

Views from the High Line

Freedom Tower and the 9/11 Memorial

Brooklyn Bridge

Rainbow Bagels

Williamsburg Bridge

Liberty Island

The famous bull on Wall Street

The Chrysler Building

Shoe Spotting in NY