This is the first time that I ever produced a pair of shoes at a war. The only things not done locally were the patterning, cutting, last tailoring, and dyeing. Everything else was done at war, and I also had the most excellent privilege of teaching others as they walked by and asked questions. Some even came to sit down to learn to make stitching cords and how to close uppers. Because of the teaching sessions, I finished these about an hour before they were due, and didn’t even get a chance to photograph the finished products!

You’ll forgive me cutting out the modern tent and vehicle in the background, I hope. That’s the shoemaking table on the left, with the shoes in progress, and my music stand and cocktail box on the right.

Just for some context…

A picture of the uppers and toggles – they don’t look like much from here, but combined, make a fantastic pair!

A view of the inside of this humble cordwainer’s tent. Don’t mind the silk blankets or the velvet drapings.

One needs to take a break from time to time to enjoy some oysters and ale. There is a cooler inside of the box, by the by.

A picture reminding me that I need to alter the pattern to bring the opening further forward (where my finger is). You can see the contrasting binding and the neat red-brown color I came up with.

Yours truly in my working clothes.

A picture 5 months after the fact – my friend Chris can be quite hard on his shoes, but a buff and stuffing the toes with some padding would get them back in fine shape.