I found these shoes in the most recent issue of National Geographic in an articled entitled Tales from the Bog. Very interesting article but I loved the shoe design, quite clever, don’t you think? With a little rework, I can see these becoming the next hot fashion item. Or maybe not. Eric and I thought the engineering was quite clever, permitting a variety of sizing. I’m guessing the strings at the bottom tie about the ankles.
If you’re up to the challenge, consider sketching pattern pieces of what it’d take to make these shoes and submit them for further discussion. For more detail, see the larger photo (320kb).
I had other entries I’d intended to post today but left the camera with photos on it, at home. Along with companion notes on my laptop. I do know better…
Thanks for the interesting article. Actually this is a very ancient and useful leather technique. It also has been used to create volumetric shapes from a flat piece of leather. It has been seen in creating baskets or “shopping bags” out of a leather circle or square. Alternating the cuts in a concentric pattern creates a “lace” effect that allows the flat shape to become a cylinder when pulled up. Too bad the recycle shopping bag contest faded away because this was ancient man’s original recycle shopping bag and I’m excited to see it as a shoe. Still in use today in various countries. I teach this in my decorative leather class because it is an interesting way to manipulate leather. It has crossed over into fashion handbags for summer bags.
Thanks for the interesting article!
I also saw this technique for leather cutting used in artifacts from ancient Egypt. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has the largest Egyptian collection outside of Cairo and they can only show parts of the collection at any time. When I lived in the Boston area, I used to go often so I could see all the wonderful things… and oddly, one of the things that touched me the most was a beautiful leather that was cut using this technique. It looks like it would be used as a garment.
In terms of the bogs and what they reveal, some amazing items have come out of there. I recall a baby parka that was so modern looking that it was haunting!!!