Malotke Sews

"Shoes: A Celebration of Pumps, Sandals, Slippers, & More" by Linda O'Keeffe is a small, lovely book I snagged at a used bookstore forever ago. It may be small but it has over 1,000 photographs of shoes. Written by Linda O'Keeffe with photography by Andreas Bleckmann, I thoroughly enjoy using this book as a reference when trying to describe to others specific shoes. It was published in 1996, but it's still one of my favorite shoe specific books in my reference section of books. Cover Shot It has great images and each section has a good variety through history. For example, when discussing sandals you don't just start at discussing Salvatore Ferragamo's straw sandals from the 1930's, the book takes you back to Egyptian sandals in 2000 B.C. and walks you through the history around the sandals and how they evolved over time. The book is broken down by types - Sandal, Heel, Slippers, etc - and each type has a "Master of Design" and a "Sh...

Want in on my trick to make brand new shoes appear dirty, without using actual dirt? Here's what I did for Gin Chance's shoes for "Trestle at Pope Lick Creek" -  I took a black pastel stick, r ubbed it on a paper towel, and then took the t owel and rubbed it onto the shoes. Since in the show Dalton takes his mom's shoes off, I needed to make sure the pastel wouldn't come off onto their hands during the show. My solution was to spray my art fixatif on the shoes. And it worked!  So far we're two weekends in and the shoes are looking great. I had purchased the shoes so I am able to do whatever needed to them for the show. I know you could pull this off with several different methods, but I really enjoy my pastel stick trick.

At the moment my full time job is so much more relaxing and stress free compared to my previous job. I am finally catching up on redoing my design space, unpacking my fabric, and getting to my list of must watch shows on Netflix.  One of the most recent documentaries I've seen is "In Louboutin's Shoes," directed by Michael Waldman. It's a great look into the way Louboutin works and how he gets inspired. Plus, the shoes are simply stunning even through the TV and not in person. If you love shoes or need a short fashion documentary to filly our time, I would recommend checking this one out. Next on my list was of course "Iris," directed by Albert Maysies. Honestly, I don't know how I waited so long to watch it. I've read about her and seen snip-its here and there, and she's truly an inspiration. I'm not huge into jewelry, but I love the way she combines textiles, colors, and patterns. I absolutely loved the documentary. It was a ...