my beautiful shoes

At first I came in as a gladiator.  I dreamed of leather textured like polished steel, medallions and metal details.  I saw myself striding through my day changing the world one stiletto at a time.

Llorraine’s pale blue eyes gazed thoughtfully at my sketch and then at me.

“You need to listen more closely to your foot, Hoong Yee.”

My inner warlord was startled.  Llorraine started drawing a sketch of a shoe and said,

“The power you seek is not in the look of armor or weapons of a warrior but in the style and elegance that your shoe will give you. Think more concubine, courtesan…”

Got it.

Now I am the descendant daughter of a concubine and a family history with women who had bound feet.

“That is a fabulous story.   Just imagine the journey that brought you from the time when women were made powerless because of their bound feet to today.  This is what your shoe is longing to be, a celebration of beauty and power.”

Four days, two television crews later, I am holding my almost finished shoes in my hands and I am listening.

I know I cannot rush this process.   My shoes still have to tell me what the finishing details will be.  What I do know is that I am going to paint the soles of my shoes that wonderful electric blue color with the eye of a peacock feather glued on the arch of my shoe.  Imagine what that will look like as I walk.  Now that is some killer walk around Wow!

The true lesson

What do you think I learned in this shoemaking workshop?   How to design a pattern?  Wrap a heel?  Create a toebox?  These are skills that I know possess and use when I make my next pair of shoes.

The unexpected learning was the joy in letting go and  letting something deeper and creatively soulful transform my inner stories, desires and dreams into a perfect shoe.

Get grounded

If you cannot find what you are searching for, here’s what I suggest:

Stop

Take a deep breath

Close your eyes

Listen to your feet

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee