Indrani Perera

poet, publisher & mentor

Tag: barefoot shoe making workshop

  • Happy Shoe Year!

    TVC 2015 Shoes 3

    {shoes made at The Village Continuum festival 2015 workshop}

    Sorry about the terrible pun, I just couldn’t resist!  I’ve loved puns ever since I was a teenager and met the step dad of a good friend.  He was a softly spoken man who would let loose with a quiet grin and some of the best puns I’ve ever heard.  Now I pun away any chance I get.

    So that explains my very daggy love of puns.  “But why the shoe reference?” I can hear you thinking.

    Aah, that’s because this Australia Day long weekend I’m running a two day barefoot shoe making workshop.  I don’t run them very often but when I do, I have a blast.  I love teaching people how to make shoes and sharing my skills and experience.  There’s an incredible synergy and generosity when people come together to make.  They inspire, share and teach each other (and me) so much!    Watching someone learn and master a new skill is so satisfying as is seeing them unleash their creativity to make their shoes unique and personal.  It’s a great antidote to the mass produced, factory-made products that are such a ubiquitous part of our lives.

    Five very different people made five very different pairs of shoes at the shoe making workshop I ran at the Village Continuum 2015 festival.  Different choices for leather colour, sinew colour, opening, suede or grain, lacing or buttons led to the five pairs of shoes you can see in the picture at the top of this post.  What would you choose for your shoes?

    The workshop is part of the Little Village Continumm weekend and is being held on a beautiful organic farm that is converting to biodynamic. Bordering Wombat Forest and just five minutes from Trentham, it’s a gorgeous place to spend a weekend with traditional crafts.  
     
    The shoe making workshop runs for 2 days – you can come and camp overnight or just come each day for the workshop.  I’ll be supplying the tools, leather and know how to make your very own pair of barefoot shoes.  You’ll need to bring your sunny selves and food to munch on (and camping gear if staying overnight).  If you've got a pair of sewing scissors, bring them along too – I'll be supplying all other tools.
     
    Workshop cost is $295 per person (includes tuition, materials and camping).  Places are limited as I believe in small, intimate classes where we can really get to know each other.
     
    I need a minimum of five people to run this workshop.  If that's you, send me an email – indrani at indraniperera.com.  Can't wait to meet you and make shoes!

  • Getting bogged down in the details

    IP - details

    It's all too easy to get lost in a sea of details.  I know because that's what I've been doing for the last week.  And it's been doing my head in!  Don't get me wrong, I love details.  I'm your girl if you want to break a project down into teeny, tiny parts or figure out just what kind of fastening you're going to use for a cushion cover (button, zipper, no fastening at all?).  I'll happily spend hours chatting to friends about fonts for logos, paper for labels and the right kind of glue to use.  Details can be beautiful.  Just like that rusty old hinge in the above picture that adorns my Pa's work shed in country Victoria.

    But there comes a time when you need to step back from all the details to see the bigger picture.  When your focus narrows it's very easy for the detail to become the whole picture.  When that happens you can find yourself having a tantrum about not being able to find anyone in Australia who manufactures small recycled cardboard tubes.  Yep, that was me.  Major hissy fit about no-one having exactly what I wanted, right now.  I know, not pretty at all!

    That's when it's time to take a reality check.  And fast.  So I did.  I've got a roof over my head, food in my belly and family and friends who love me.  So who cares if I can't find the "right" packaging.  Does it really matter?  Well, yes, I'm ashamed to say.  For me it does.  I like having everything just so.  But I also like getting things done and spending more time online searching for something that didn't exist was just plain stupid.  

    I needed to get some perspective.  Broaden my vision and see past the details.  First I needed to define what I needed.   Next was figuring out what qualities were important.  I broke those qualities down into must-haves, desirables and negotiable.  My need?  Protective packaging for my product.  Qualities?  Recycled was a must-have.  Australian made was desirable.  Round – negotiable.  

    Doing this opened up my whole world.  Next time you're bogged down in the details, give it a go!

    Workshop update:  My next Barefoot Shoe Making Workshop is running 5-6 March 2016 in Blackburn, Victoria.  Check out the workshops page for more details.