View allAll Photos Tagged bespokeshoes
I finished these shoes on the 18.8.16 - Full Moon in Aquarius. I made them for my GP. Fully lined in soft Bubble Gum suede they make a gorgeous pair of shoes that will last her years.
With 24ct Gold plaited brass eyelets and double soft leather soles 12mm thick, protected from wear with Dinky Tyre soles and heels. Made for and designed by Margaret Bide.
This short video illustrates perfectly my whole philosophy about Shoe Design.
Pointy shoes combined with socks squash the toes and restrict their movement, restrict your balance, weaken the toes, which is reflected in a disempowerment in the joy of movement.
Shandals® are the shape of normal healthy feet, are broad
at the metatarsal arch, have a straight inside edge, a low
heel, with a big toe thong that guides the toe straighter and
relieves the pressure on the second and little toes.
The lace-up design holds the heels firmly back into the
back of the Shandals®, leaving the toes liberated and free to
spread into the wide toe box.
Weakened under-used muscles are exercised, so
strengthen.
Tendons and muscles stretch, so your feet rejuvenate and your natural balance, stability, vitality, grace, dignity and èlan is restored.
My Shoes and Shandals® have profound healing properties for those with sore and damaged feet.
Hammer toes have a chance to straighten. Corned, squashed little toes heal. The circulation improves, so cold feet warm.
Those that walk, skip and dance in my Shoes and Shandals, do so with great strength and agility.
This strength is reflected in strong ankles and legs.
All these qualities bring wonderful relief to tired, sore feet.
The 6 to 12mm leather soles are soft, so your unique footprints imbed into them. You end up with feet-shaped shoes, instead of shoe shaped feet.
The Uppers are fully lined in Suede or leather making them
superbly sensual, comfortable and luxurious.
The older they get, the more cosy and comfortable they become...........
I haven't worn socks for over 23 years.
I believe that socks and stockings do as much damage to your feet as pointy shoes and especially when they are combined.
When we put on socks they gather the toes, then we put our socked feet into pointy shoes they are gathered even more and our toes are even more restricted.
Wearing shoes fully lined in suede in bare feet is a real freedom. If clients really do prefer to wear socks I guide them to www.toesocks.co.uk
Toe socks are made with the five toes separated.
Fully lined in School Grey suede. Signed & dated AL. 28.3.17 New Moon in Aries. Made for my Acupuncturist Rowena Partridge.
This is the fourth pair of shoes I have made for my client.
The Uppers are made from a rich, soft, tan leather with 24ct Gold plaited brass eyelets and are fully lined in Highland Fox Brown suede.
Suede is so sensuous to bare skin.
As before I made the Toe Box 5mm deeper and altered the Quarters, so that the eyelets were further apart.
The soft leather soles are 12mm thick, which are protected from wear with 5mm Dinky Tyre soles and 8mm heels.
My client commissioned them to wear them with Jeans, Cords and Chinos when he is not in formal business suit.
Signed and dated 13.8.11 - Full Moon in Aquarius.
www.alanjamesraddon.co.uk/index.html
Email:-
AlanJames@AlanJamesRaddon.co.uk
I made the Shoes and Shandals for a client who is a 74 year old Chiropractor. She has odd size feet. The Uppers are made from soft Indigo full grain Italian leather and fully lined in Connolly Cream leather with gold plaited eyelets.
It took a number of photographs to get it right, but it turned out great in the end. I shall be using it in an ad come leaflet
On the one foot a Lilac suede Shandal fully lined in soft sensuous Bubble Gum Pink suede. A Shandal that is broad at the Metatarsal Arch to give the toes the freedom to spread, exercise and strengthen in the fresh air. With a straight inside edge and a toe thong the guides the big toe straight and a Lace up design that supports and cuddles the arch and keeps the foot firmly back into the heel of the Shandal. And that is repairable and will last many years.
Or....
On the the other foot a pointy, toe squashing trainer worn with toe gathering socks, in a hot, sweaty, smelly atmosphere. Yuk!!! And, that is designed with built in Obsolescence..Designed to lasts months. But, then I am biased, I would say that wouldn't I.
Megan's first pair of Shandals®. Photograph by Megan
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These Rope Soled Slipper Shoes took months to make. I commissioned Michelle Williams to weave the Uppers in July 2010. From raw wool of the Marino and Wensleydale sheep Michelle first dyed a large palette of colours with natural and synthetic dyes. Once dry she then spun the raw wool into thread, adding touches of silk and synthetics to add sheen and sparkle. Most weaving are rectangular in shape, the Uppers of a pair of shoes have many curves, so were incredibly difficult to make. The scenes are based loosely on scenes from the countryside and seascapes of West Wales. The beads at the end of the laces are hand made by Michelle too. The laces are square to reflect the 200ft of 5mm thread that I plait into square ropes to make the rope soles. Once she had woven the 8 pieces of Uppers I lined them with soft, full grain Italian leather in British Racing Green, sewed them together, plaited the soles and invisibly stitched the Uppers to the soles. They are signed and dated 3.4.11.
To contact Michelle go to
If you would like to buy my book 'How to make Rope Soled Footwear.' contact me on
www.alanjamesraddon.co.uk/index.html
Email:-
AlanJames@AlanJamesRaddon.co.uk
Ruby Red & White Kid leather Polka Dot Lace-up Shandals® .
Signed & dated 14.2.16. My Apprentice's Japanese apprentice - Mariko made these for me. I've wanted to make a collection of red & white Shandals® for months, but had always to busy. So when Mariko spent time with me training whilst Ruth was away in Mexico it was the perfect opportunity to make them and to start dabbling with 'fashion' photography.
These shoes are fully lined in Easter Rose Red Italian leather and have a double layer of soft leather for the soles, which I have protected with hard wearing Topy soles and heels
I feel honoured that three wolves were relaxed enough to settle, Of course K and his family were their so.....the wolf at my Shandals-ed feet next to the Rope Soled Slippers with matching Armchair, took a particular liking to me and I to her, I miss the tactility and acute awareness and companionship of a dog.
There is much history in this photograph and many stories in each object and painting with their own particular tale to tell....
www.flickr.com/photos/22260792@N02/10026885864/in/album-7...
After standing all day at The London Book Fair in an early pair of my Rope Soled Chukka boots made from Red Sparkle Velvet (see a similar pair I made 10 years later in 1992. - www.flickr.com/photos/22260792@N02/2146098965/in/album-72...) my feet ached, but a good soak in a hot bucket of water and a Reflexology massage soon perked me up.
Father Christmas bought me a new Nikon, the quality of my ten year old digital Nikon was good but......and this D610 shoots movies.......watch this space
www.alanjamesraddon.co.uk/index.html
Email:-
AlanJames@AlanJamesRaddon.co.uk
It was a real pleasure to meet Mariko's Mother and Father and Sister and Peter and Linda and Ruth and Talito and .......... There was a real warm, kind spirit to the whole evening.
It was special as is the photograph.
I look taller than I am because I was on tiptoes..
I look forward to seeing Mariko's Mother wearing Shandals!!!!
Her Grandmother has a pair already
Red & Silver Kid Wide lace up Shandals. Signed & Dated 9.1.16.
I made these Lace-up Shandals for an photographer friend of mine that I worked with back in the 60's and 70's, when I was an Art Director in Advertising. He'd slipped on a discarded coat hanger in a Charity Shop and had shattered his hip and although in pain was incredibly positive - hence the Silver Kid lining to symbolise his positivity and the Red Kid upper to symbolise energy and good luck.
I chose the Lace-up Shandals because the lace-up design holds the feet firmly into the back of the Shandals leaving his toes free to spread to give a strong, stable balance combined with the Dinky Tyre soles and heels for a firm, non-slip grip on most surfaces.
These lace-up Shandals are the widest Shandals I make, but they come in three widths and over 50 colours and a variety of leathers. For more information click on my web site - www.alanjamesraddon.co.uk/ or my flickr web site
Signed and date AL. 3.5.16.
I've started Gold Plaiting the brass eyelets I use in my Shandals® and Shoes. Brass eyelets tarnish with age and loose their sparkle, Gold does not.
I made them for a Golfer client of mine,
(I showed him my method/theory of a Golf swing -
The Raddon Swing.
A right handed Golfer releases the left foot at the heel to swivel to point towards the Hole, there by releasing the strain on the left knee and back and constant injuries -Knee ops etc.
One also gets greater Hip Power and Follow Through Power to hit the Golf ball.)
.......the left Shandal is a size 7 and the right a size 7.5 and they are fully lined in soft sensuous School Grey Suede.
Sold £520.00.
Signed and date AL. 3.5.16.
.. fully lined in soft, sensuous Cherry Red suede. Hand woven cloth by Welsh Weaver and Designer www.LlioJames.com. Signed and dated AL. 11.4.17 Full Moon in Libra and first day of Passover and the Buddhist New Year - Thereavada.
Every now and again I get a client whose toes are nearly all the same length with the result that have to wear shoes that are one or more sizes longer than their actual size.
I designed these shoes with a squarer toe box just for them.
I only had 10 minutes to shoot Eira in her new Shandals®. They look a size too big for her but when she stood there was only 2 or 3mm in front of her big toe, so they fitted but with a half size longer for growth.
I finished these shoes on the Winter Solstice. 2014.
I made them for a local doctor that works in A&E in Aberystwyth. His old Easter Rose Italian leather shoes I made him back in 2002 were looking a bit wrinkled, although there was still wear in them and didn't need repairing yet, he, I guess, fancied a new pair.
I lined them in Cream Connolly leather (The leather that once Rolls Royce, Jaguar and many other luxury cars used for their car seats to line the Italian leather shoes.
He has just walled out in them and is my last client for the year and coincides with finishing my Easter Rose kitchen that I started back in July....Happy Christmas!!!!
Being mid winter I have personally re-discovered my Double leather shoes... My Classic Original Shoes.
For many years now I have tended just to wear my Slip-on Shandals with single leather soles with the Dinky Tyre Soles.
But recently in this damp winter and I guess being 70 years old and mid Winter, I feel the damp and cold coming through the single leather soles and Dinky Tyre Soles.
Of course not wearing socks for over 25 years doesn't help, but now that I am wearing my old black half inch Double Leather soled shoes, my Classic original design, I find there is no problem and they are surprising flexible too.
Mike in his Buckle Shandals in soft full grain brown Italian leather fully lined in Red Italian leather
Signed and dated 2.8.12 www.alanjamesraddon.co.uk/index.html
Email:-
AlanJames@AlanJamesRaddon.co.uk
The Harris Tweed is hand woven in the Outer Hebrides. The Rope Soled Slippers are hand made in West Wales.
It's been some time since I made a pair of my Rope Soled Slippers, they have taken me ages to make. Working out where to cut the pattern for the Vamps and Quarters, trying to match both patterns, mounting them on brown kid leather, then lined again with Hazelnut suede.
Plaiting the 200 yards of Jute twine into two 6ft lengths and working out the plans to make a size 7 pair of rope soles, came surprising easily, but blind sewing the Uppers to the rope soles was difficult because I could not see where the holes were in the nap of the Harris Tweed.
It took a Friday and a whole weekend to finish making the soles and sewing them onto the Harris Tweed Uppers.
I've made a few unedited movies of the process, but now is the time to post them to my client, a retired GP that only just bought his second pair of shoes.
And it was time to do the Still Life photograph, pack them, write the Invoice and post them Special delivery........................
It's going to be difficult to let go of these slippers....
They were difficult to make............and took many hours to create.
They are beautiful.....Art.
I sign and date every pair........
Are my Shoes, Shandals and Rope Soled Slippers a Craft or an Art?
I live the life of an artist and have done for over 30 years.
I am a Shoemaker, so when it comes to my handmade leather soled Shoes and Shandals I would call myself a Maker. And at best, a healer through the medium of my shoes and my Shandals, especially the Lace- up Shandals.
But when it comes to my Rope Soled Slippers I call myself an Artist.
I made my first experimental pair for myself, in 1976.
So these Harris Tweed Rope Soled Slippers are the pinnacle of 40 years making.
And although they are made to be worn, (Worn barefoot they should become superbly comfortable as the retired GP's feet embed into the soft leather and rope soles.) I feel they deserve to be exhibited pristine in a gallery.
Or in a Shoe Collectors...... collection.
My Rope Soled Slippers are collectible.
So too my Shandals, which I regard as perhaps the most significant Shoe Design ever designed. A breakthrough in thinking, a breakthrough in their healing properties. See my Shandals Empower Women ad.
www.flickr.com/photos/22260792@N02/11719578794
At nearly 71 years of age my Rope Soled Slippers are limited.
And although I am letting them go for £665, the next pair will be considerably more.