Hi all,
I seem to have fallen in love with a pair of boots.
I bought them before I went out of town because they were cheap ($20) and they looked cute with an outfit that I had picked up. But to my amazement, these have turned out to be the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn (I have "problem feet"). I have walked scores of miles all over Dublin, and you know that, "Ahhh" feeling when you get home from a long day and take your shoes off? Yeah, I don't get that with these. They're so comfy that I forget to take them off.
The problem, of course, is that I got what I paid for. They are pleather junk. The bottoms are falling off and the pleather is peeling and I've only had them for two months (a pretty rough two months, but still).
My first instinct as an American was, of course, to call China and have them ship me 40,000 pairs at the wholesale price, but I ran into a storage issue. Plus, they were out of stock.
My second instinct as a DIYer was to learn to make a pair myself, better than the originals, though I have zero leather working experience, and after delving into the riches of this site, I may still do that eventually. But my feet can wait for my hands to learn!
I looked around for companies that could make boots to my specifications, and I just can't find what I want. These boots need to have very flexible bottoms, almost like slippers, but they need to stand up to wear and tear better than junk from China. Here is a picture of the ones I have for an idea of the style:
So, are there any leatherworkers here who specialize in custom boots? Or can anyone direct me to the masters?
My feet thank you!
