Lasted Dress Shoe
I spent 3 years in an informal apprenticeship with Bill Shannor in early 2000’s, but in 2019, I found out he was retiring, and jumped on board for one of his very last classes. Before this point, I had never made a proper pair of welted dress shoes and it was time to learn from the best.
Bill has an amazing collection of the nicest leathers!
It had been years since I felt this far out of my comfort zone… It’s those terrifying moments that stretch us and where real growth happens.
Upper and sole assembled. Welt sewn on. Shank and filler in place… ready for an outsole!
I’ve learned more about my craft as a teacher than I ever knew before. To articulate a process, a hand tool technique, or an idea … to say it out loud, have someone understand and then “DO IT” with confidence is very rewarding.
Bill planted the seeds for so many ideas, techniques, and deeper motivations for understanding this craft, that it took my hands years to catch up to the knowing of…
I’ve never made a perfect shoe.. there is always something that could be better, some small technique, a line of stitching, the edge finish of sole and heel, an alternate line in the styling of vamp and quarters…
It’s the thing i first fell in love with while working in Bill’s shop all those years ago… My field of focus and the detail happening within that space. Just at arms length, maybe a single square foot wide…
