Becoming a bespoke shoemaker is tough, but becoming a bespoke shoemaker in America is even harder. But thanks to a few people who are teaching what they know and sharing it with others, there is a way if you have the will, and a few bucks. Funny enough, as I was starting out, I was looking for people to learn from and I never knew until years later that I had a bespoke maker right in my backyard, in Seattle. That is Craig Corvin. After reading his blog and sending him an email, I quickly discovered that Craig, like me, started his learning process at The Shoe School, which is a tiny workshop run by two wonderful people, Alan and Jane, in a small, quaint town in Western Washington. He then took what he learned from that and went on to study under Marcell (otherwise known as Koronya) in Budapest, Hungary. The rest seems to be history and now Craig does what he can while still maintaining another job, all for the love of shoemaking.
I know that it is hard to find bespoke shoemakers in the States and I thought that this might give some of you, a chance to see that you do not need to go all the way to Europe or Japan or where ever to get bespoke shoes, you can just look in the NW of the States. On another note, on the day of the Royal Wedding, here in England, I will be taking the day off from work to go shape my new lasts and learn how to cut a pattern, from my very own design. I am quite excited and can't wait to show all of you my finished product, although that might be a little while from now. But as a clue to what it will be, I will just say that it does involve fabric.
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