I had the opportunity to travel to Toronto, Canada and spend 10 days gaining shoemaking knowledge from Jennifer Allison.  Jennifer is amazing, she is the founder of Art & Sole Academy and former designer for companies such as ALDO, Abercrombie and Fitch, AWAMAKI and Pour La Victoire. Her work has been featured in many publications such as Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, In Style, Elle and Flare Magazine to name a few and has been worn by many reputable icons such as Cameron Diaz, Anne Hathaway, Blake Lively and Rihanna.

 It was a such blast!  I got to complete one my designs with a custom sole, learned some new techniques, crafted my first women's style shoe, created a men's loafer / smoking slipper and built a sneaker boot hybrid using no sewing machines.  100% hand stitched from upper to sole.  All in 10 days!

 Although I spent majority of my time in the studio I did have some time to visit the Bata Shoe Museum.  Which showcases the history and evolution of footwear.  I got to see a replica of the first recorded caveman shoe, NASA astronaut boots that walked on the moon and the biggest cowboy boot ever made.  Which I swear, is like 6 feet tall!  There was even a beautiful ladies high heel pump with an extravagant pointed toe.  Crafted by the man himself, Monolo Blahnik.