Early tests in Jesmonite from our empathetic prosthetics designer Kris Walsh @krisewalsh in response to conversations with Sarah who she was paired with for the Shoes Have Names project.
We look forward to unveiling the final piece at the Shoes Have Names exhibition. This piece and the work of nine other artists/designers will be on display later this month at Boutique by Shelter in King’s Cross as part of the official London Craft Week program 2020.
As this project moves along and the release date is creeping up, I wanted to take this time to reflect a bit on this experience. Looking back through my photos, I found this picture of me lasting the final shoe which represents Chantelle’s story. This picture was taken at the workshops of London College of Fashion right before I flew home to Canada. Though I miss the buzz of the sanding machines, the plethora of creativity, and the after hours phone calls with Chantelle discussing our designs; I was looking forward to was going home to Canada. Even though I completed the shoe for the original launch date before lockdown, I have been thinking about the importance of the home throughout the whole summer.
Home is a place of comfort, where the air doesn’t smell foreign and where everything is always exactly where you left it. It’s a place of warmth even when the AC is blasting on the hottest days, or when the frigid winter freezes the pipes. In these past few months when the home has been the epicenter of our lives, I think about Chantelle’s experiences facing homelessness and eviction, I think about the fear she faced and the coldness of the unknown. I reflect upon the warmth Shelter brought her and the comfort a home brings. Just like a blanket, the home wraps us in security and warmth. The Chantelle shoe I created for this exhibit is made from buttery soft leather and wraps around the foot like a blanket; securing it and keeping it warm. Each part of the shoe is significant and tells Chantelle’s story. As the world continues to open, we must not forget the importance of a home and all the physical and emotional warmth it brings us.
Dan
We are very excited to have Dr Ellen Sampson @the_afterlives_of_clothes as one of the 10 Shoes Have Names Designers! Here is a peak some of her past beautiful ‘Cyanotypes’ Ellen has a PhD from Royal College of Art, London and was 2018-19 Polaire Weismann Fellow at The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York @themuseumofmodernart
She is currently Professorial Fellow in Fashion at University of the Creative Arts. @unioftheartslondon Ellen's solo exhibition Emotional Objects is currently touring in various venues across the United States.
Ellen will be make a special shoe related Cyanotype for our London Craft Week exhibition
Cyanotypes are created using a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. Engineers used the process well into the 20th century as a simple and low-cost process to produce copies of drawings, referred to as blueprints. The process uses two chemicals: ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide. Here we see some of Ellen’s latest work.
Today I took my mould outside to create a new stearine shoe and to enjoy some fresh air. We found a really lovely place where we stayed some hours working outside. I had to destroy the mould unfortunately.
But I am working on getting a silicone mould made. It’s not so easy to get the right material these days because most shops are closed.
I have ordered materials and hopefully they will arrive next week.
Elisabeth Thorsen
We had to share this as soon as we received it. This is the first test of Elisabeth’s concept. You can read more about her thinking and the use of donated candles on her previous Shoes Have Names blog post.
Hello, Elisabeth from Norway here. This is my second update.
After I watched a video of Missie’s story I knew I needed to involve her in this project and learn more about her. We have been talking on Skype and email and i feel a connection with her. I really love her spirit and love and respect her oevre.
I found it important to get people to think of how it would be to be in a homeless person’s shoes, how they look at homeless people and how they would manage being homeless themselves?! So how to get people in the mood and think about how it is to not be able to have shoes in right size, without holes or shoes at all?
I have always liked the idea about lighting a candle for someone you love or something good. Then I had the idea of making shoe lights and i felt it would work well with "Sacred performance", where people light a shoe and reflect about homelessness.
Missie has told me that she writes poems and she is even creating her own children’s book these days, so I would love it if she could read or perform on the exhibition opening. You can read Missie’s blog about her favourite shoes.
We have a little something in mind we will come back to, so you will just have to wait and see. I also love that i received a lot of candles while talking about the project on the radio. So this is made with love out of material given with love.
Now i am looking forward to talking with Missie to discuss the rest of the project and hear what she has written. We need to figure out some things about the shoes but i think the project is taking shape slowly but in the right direction.
Elisabeth Thorsen
Shoes Have Names collaborator
The thing that came to my mind when first reading my partner Shandor’s story, who was helped by Shelter, was the saying “Home is where the heart is” – anybody that knows my work will know I will always try and get a heart in there somewhere.
It also says a home is more than just four walls and a roof - it gives a sense of permanence, safety and security where the things and people you hold dear are.
This project has brought back memories of being brought up around the family shoe business, experiencing the highs and the lows and finishing with my parents losing the family home and the shame and despair felt but also the feeling that you have to fight on. Speaking to Shandor we discussed how experiencing homelessness changes your perspective and different things become important.
While homeless he told me how his favourite waterproof shoes gave him security in a time of uncertainty. With this in mind I will do a lace up clog to hold securely on the foot. My starting point was to scribble words and images which stood out to me in Shandor’s story, from the hole which caused his injury and started his journey, to the little things like hanging pictures with hooks on the wall – a sign of permanence: home. So here’s a little peak in my sketch book so far.
Jackie
Hello, Elisabeth from Norway here.
I have started the process with the Shoes Have Names project and shared this video of my early idea process.
I have moved away from that idea but the path of getting to the result is a part of the making.
Now it's like. .. what is a home to me? Things, safety, music, people? Hmmm I guess a safe zone. A place to feel free to do, believe, eat and say what I want and the freedom to rest in a safe zone.
My first idea was to make a house as a shoe, a small one like a tent, but I moved away from that. My next idea was to make shoes with secret rooms and a possibility to lock them on while sleeping like handcuffs, but it did not seem good and reminded me too little of Missie.
Then I wanted to make a shoe with a door and doorbell welcoming the foot into the shoe, but it felt too strange. Now I am working on something new and hope it gets good. I will post photos and videos of the process.
Elisabeth Thorsen
Shoes Have Names collaborator
While re-reading my notes about the first meeting I remembered a story Chantelle shared with everyone at our Shoes Have Names Community meet.
Chantelle was speaking about her struggle to simply get to the first meet and greet. Of course living far from central London is already a hassle and then she got to the train station and there were train issues and everything seemed to be pointing her to turn back.
She was not embarrassed or ashamed to say that she started crying: there is barely a day that goes by when she doesn’t get emotional and close to tears, she told me. About to turn back, something came upon her like a mysterious force.
She doesn’t want to go home and feel sorry for herself, instead she gets on the train and there she is in the flesh at the meeting telling everyone about this experience. Chantelle’s been through things that no one should ever have to go through. When I asked her what kept her going through the toughest times she said, the thought of independence keeps her going through anything.
She exemplifies this incredible force to fight for herself and her children with every hardship that is thrown at her. The story she shared of the struggle to get to the first meeting shows her strong will and independence. This force and will power is something truly special and something I would like to show in my designs that represents: who Chantelle is, what she’s been through, and how she keeps going.
To show this I am going to use physical forces as a metaphor to visually represent the mental strength Chantelle shows every day of her life.
Physical Forces:
Applied Force
Spring Force
Drag Force
Frictional Force
Gravitational Force
Magnetic Force
Electronic Force
Many thanks
Dan Charkow
Shoes Have Names collaborator
Meeting the team at Shelter, what stood out for me is their passion and dedication to their work. While the person I am paired with wishes to remain anonymous, my email communication with her revealed her high regard for her case worker at Shelter, who was pivotal in achieving a positive outcome for her.
The value of the work done here to advocate for those without a home cannot be overstated - not just providing the physical structure of four walls, but the rebuilding of broken souls.
The person I am paired with is, like many of us, a woman at the centre of her family, for whom she is responsible, and who depend on her. Her only wish is to be happy and to have the domestic life she craves - collecting what is most important to her under one roof - her personal items, her family, her dog.
My work has always been based on traditional craft techniques utilising natural materials and my thoughts for this project turned to narrative embroidery. Most traditional samplers feature domestic scenes, with the house and home at the centre. This is my inspiration.
Caroline Groves
Shoes Have Names Collaborator
Today was the first time I was able to meet Chantelle and the whole team driving the Shoes Have Names project. It was definitely a humbling experience hearing everyone’s stories and finally making a face to face connection.
Reading Chantelle’s story one thing I noticed is how she kept comparing Shelter’s work with comfort and warmth, contrasted with how she described the Council as making her feel like “a number or an animal.”
Upon meeting her today, I realize that she too is a beacon of warmth. She has such a strong and friendly heart which really evident today. She was an open book willing to share even the toughest experiences. What I didn’t realise is that Chantelle is actually still fighting homeless; it is a constant and exhausting battle.
When I asked what she wanted represented in the Chantelle Shoe, she immediately said she wanted something strong and resilient. In contrast to this, she also wanted to represent her own femininity and show how she had to change and become an even stronger woman and mother as a result of homelessness.
My first design thoughts are immediately drawn to using contrasting materials such as cold steel and vulnerable fur. It would be nice to use recycled metal scraps and maybe something that is more sustainable than fur.
Daniel Charkow
