Hi I’m Rachel!
I make sturdy simple sandals, one pair at a time. When I’m not making shoes for myself or my onilne shop, I love showing people how to make their own shoes in my classes. If you’re just starting out, I believe sandals are a great first step.
Here are some reasons I think making your own shoes is worthwhile.
PERSONAL- Making your own footwear is an empowering process. The confidence from having designed and built something you can wear everyday is very gratifying.
PHYSICAL- Learning to use knives and scissors and to shape raw materials is a pleasure, and working on dexterity skills is valuable. Cutting, hammering, shaping: it’s good to stay in practice.
SOCIAL- Sitting around and talking with friends while making practical goods with hand tools— this is what humans did for many thousands of years. It feels great to work alongside others: designing, troubleshooting, gossiping.
POLITICAL- Making your own shoes is a challenge to consumption-as-usual. Living a life where one has a closet full of shoes and no idea how they are built is a bit depressing, not to mention exploitive. Shoes take a lot of steps to make, and nearly all use adhesives applied by human hands. The assumption that people across the globe are content doing this everyday for little pay is unfair. I believe that taking the time to value this humble work is a step in the right direction.
MENTAL - What I love about shoemaking is that you can be wildly creative, but you must stick to the dictates of fit and ergonomics. At the same time, you have to make 2 objects that are symmetrical, not identical. Using your right and left brain at the same time is a fun challenge.
About me-
I’m an artist and shoemaker based in Santa Barbara, CA. I moved here from Portland, OR 2 years ago. I’ve been teaching sandalmaking classes for 14 years (!).
The first time I saw a shoemaker work was at a music festival in Wales. He was a clogmaker and I asked him to remake my favorite sandals. Shortly after they arrived, a fire in my apartment burned all my shoes, including the custom pair. I couldn’t afford to replace them, and I was curious if I could remake that same style myself.
When I tried to seek out sandalmaking lessons, I found that no one on the West Coast was making sandals, or teaching. Instead I turned to old books (from the 60s/70s), cobblers (great to learn from), and shoemakers (the few I could find), to help me along my way. After a year of working on my bedroom floor remaking old sandals, Rachel Sees Snail Shoes was born in 2010. My business is comprised of teaching classes, making DIY kits, and creating special 1-off pairs.
Book-
My book THE SANDALMAKING WORKSHOP was published by Storey in 2021. You can find it anywhere online, such as Bookshop.org. As far as I know, there has never been a book written exclusively on how to make sandals. Finally sandals are getting their moment!
Visit me-
You can make an appointment to see examples of my work, buy supplies, take a class, or plan a custom pair. At my home-studio you’ll find a small selection of my handmade shoes as well as Sandal-Making Kits.
Custom pairs-
I’m currently on break from Custom Orders! Normally, you would choose a design from my previous work and we can discuss style variations including color, heel height, or other specifications. I have a FORM you can fill out to make a custom inquiry. It's not necessary to do an in-person fitting, but if you live in Santa Barbara, I recommend stopping in. Prices start at 250.
Returns-
I’m happy to allow returns on shoes and sandals. I understand that fit is nuanced and unpredictable. I ask to reserve a 10 dollar fee to cover my shipping expense.
Vegan leather-
Unfortunately I do not have vegan alternatives for all of my components. There is a way to make a fully vegan sandal, but it’s not something I highly recommend—until I find better sources for alt-leather. In the mean-time, the uppers can be made from quilted fabric, or vinyl leather. Most of the leather in my shop is American-tanned, with exceptions picked up here and there, but always small scale purchases, using up the remainder of some large company’s huge order. This is the way I like to work :-)
Preparing for Class-
You don’t need to bring anything except easy on/off shoes! I supply everything: tools and materials. If there is a certain color you have your heart set on, please check that I have it first. You may want to think about what style you’d like to make- I collected some women’s ideas here and men’s ideas here, see both!
Visit Santa Barbara! Here is a list of my favorite restaurants, shops, and things to do regarding art, film, and nature. If you come to take a class, use it to help plan your visit.
(And here is my former “Portland List”)
I have a free SANDALMAKING 101 video. Enroll in my class and try out all Skillshare classes with this link: http://skl.sh/rcorry
To get (very rare) email notifications about upcoming classes, please sign up here:
More on RACHEL SEES SNAIL SHOES can be found at Conscious by Chloe, REALM newsletter, Kindling Podcast, Portland Monthly, Gossamer Magazine, Apartment Therapy, Chalkboard Mag, and Refinery29.
FAQ
Can you come to my town/ city/ house and teach a class?
Maybe! If you can provide a venue with a big sturdy table, chairs for everyone, an outdoor area, and group of 4-6 eager participants, we should talk! It’s most feasible for me to visit places along the West Coast because I can potentially drive, or incorporate the class into a larger trip. Unfortunately teaching abroad/ east coast/ middle of the US is hard because I have to fly with tools and materials for everyone, and the class price only really covers my travel expenses. For these classes, I usually charge the same price that I would at my own studio.
If I hope to keep making more sandals after your class, what would you estimate is the cost of the material and tools? Is it possible to make more at home once you've learned the skills?
Continuing to make shoes is definitely part of the plan! My book has all the resources you’d need to continue making sandals or simple shoes. Additionally you can always email me with questions. Sandalmaking and shoemaking is an "at-home" friendly activity once you invest in some basic tools. To make sandals your initial tool cost might be about $50. Materials would be closer to $150 because you often have to buy a whole leather hide, a whole sheet of soling material, a whole container of glue. But then you’ll have enough to continue to make several more pairs. The only higher priced tools you might invest in would be a shoe anvil (~$50 online), optional tacks and nails (~$30), or maybe a table-top belt-sander (~$100). All these things can be shared if you want to work with friends!
Do you sell shoemaking kits? Mule-making kits?
Yes! I FINALLY made a Mule kit and Mule video! Kits come with video links to help you along. You’ll have to source your own shoe forms. You can start by looking for your size on etsy, ebay, here, or here.
I'm trying to get a group together for the closed-toe shoe class. Is there a maximum size?
The max size is 5. It’s because you’ll each need to work on lasts (shoe forms) that roughly resemble your foot, and if you're all around the same size, I might not have enough forms in stock. Also since there are so many fit issues with closed-toe shoes, I need to give you all a lot of hands-on help, so its easier to work with a smaller group.