Who does not remember the past, lives without a future

Category: Footwear

My shoe collection reflects my family's heritage, being inspired by the life stories and qualities of these women. Every material, every detail, and every stitch embodies the stories, memories and emotions of the women in my family. In total, a whole was created, a collection of shoes, 4 different artifacts inspired by four different personalities, eras and memories, which are still connected by thick blood. Similar to the desire to keep the stories of my female family alive, I was based on the principles of sustainability when making shoes. The first priority was the choice of environmentally friendly materials and techniques - the soles of the shoes with a cement-free construction are created from scraps of wood and plywood. I made three pairs of mouldings from Viking Life-Saving Equipment Estonia AS polyethylene foam waste material, and modeled one pair from cork and leather scraps. I made the parchment myself from the bear skin my father hunted, which gives the shoes a unique and traditional touch. The Estonian hunters' society estimates that more than half of wild animal skins remain unvalued. Currently, there are no companies in Estonia that tan wild animal skins, so hunters often return them to the forest, though the volume is too large, and hunters regret this lack of alternative uses. Inspired to use these skins more valuably, I decided to make a parchment. My father provided me with three salted skins: a beaver, a boar, and a bear. Although I had never made parchment before, I took the risk and tried with the bearskin. After almost two weeks of work and risks, I was finally able to prove that at home it is possible to make your own parchment from the skin of a wild animal. Techniques: parchment making, milling, drilling, sawing, sanding, lasting, sewing. Material: parchment, vegetable tanned leather, wood, plywood, wax thread, beeswax