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I finally have so many things in place - website - www.simpleshoemaking.com, blog - www.simpleshoemaking.wordpress.com etsy shop - etsy.com/shop/simpleshoemaking facebook page - http://www.facebook....24556516?ref=hl (twitter and linked in are going to have to wait - a looonnng time!) that I am ready to reach out and try to get people to read all of this stuff! I spent the last three years putting all the shoemaking patterns I have accumulated into books - How to Make the Simplest Sandals, How to Make Simple Shoes for Women, How to Make Simple Shoes for Children, How to Make Simple Sandals, How to Make Simple Moccasins, and making dvds to supplement them. I also make resin lasts for sale, that the patterns were made over. I would love to collaborate with a leather carver to create a simple sandal, so others can see how much "bang for your buck" you can get. In other words, by carving bands for a pair of "slide-type" sandals, you get a great amount of visibility of your craft while working on a relatively small space. I would send you the pattern for the band after you tell me what woman's size you want to make. Then, you send the bands and I'll make a pair of sandals that incorporates them, photograph them, and mail them back to you. Or, if you want directions for making the sandals yourself, I'd be happy to provide them - all I want is a photo of the completed project, to post on this and other sites. I could imagine all sorts of leatherwork being done on footwear: braiding, painting, embossing, studs etc (have you seen the work of Calleen Cordero?!) My goal is to help people make shoes for their friends and family - and themselves! or perhaps start small shoemaking businesses. This photo is of a "slide" with a stamped design on the leather. Imagine that it had a carved band on it instead. The sole of the collaborative sandal would be made of leather, thicker than the one shown here - the sole on this sandal is just a piece of conveyor belt. If you have any interest in simple shoemaking - by "simple" I mean that I mostly make "stitch-downs", in which the upper turns out upon the sole, where the two components are stitched together - please check out my sites. If you are interested in collaboration, please email a photo of your work, best wishes, sharon

Thought I would share with the good group of Leather making, shoe loving folks my first made pair of custom leather sandals which I found instructions for on the Fine Leatherworking website. If you have not been on this site you might want to take a look around. They have some nice BLOGS going and resources not found anywhere else including lessons and high quality hand tools. Sean Aquino is a Master leather craftsman and instructor who has taught me a lot and holds both one-on-one and group lessons on the skills of fine leather work from beginner to advanced levels. Let me know how you like these custom sandals. I'm changing the design to eliminate the custom element by following the lead of Berkinstock. I'll be selling these out of an Artisian Shop I'm associated with in SB California and measuring and fitting for each customer would be impossible. Hence the buckles. The next generation that I made I added a layer of cork and some Polyurethane padding to give the shoe some initial comfort and long term foot molding attributes. Still, the break in period is significant and requires the wearer to participate in the process. Not like the Buy-and-Go production foot ware from Off shore! More photos to follow if anyone is interested. Silverd