Bespoke

Friday morning in Ithaca, still waiting for spring to really wake up around here.  One day it's 65 and sunny and I am going for a run in my t-shirt, the next day it snows and I light up the woodstove for what I keep hoping is the last time.  It's almost Easter, I expect to be wearing a coat to church this year instead of sandals.  My friends (and blog readers) are probably getting tired of me whinging about the weather, but every year my SAD gets a little worse and the Ithaca darkness gets a little harder to bear.  If I had insurance I would try out some antidepressants for November-March, but as it is I'm just flirting with a little half-caff coffee some especially dark afternoons.  Happily, the chicken pox is mostly a memory now.

Meanwhile, I'm finding great joy in this whole shoe-painting business!  I haven't been inspired like this in ages, it's all I want to do.  My kitchen island and living room are often covered with work in progress.  I find it's best to work on several pairs at once, so I can think about the next steps, and also let the paint really dry between coats.  My Etsy site is getting lots of looks and some nice comments.  AND I have several bespoke orders, five this week alone.  I'm thinking this is going to go somewhere.  And if not, at least it's really really fun right now.  Although all this shoe research means I keep finding shoes I want too.

Bespoke is one of my favorite words, and I love being able to adopt it to describe part of my business.  It's a great old somewhat-British word meaning created specifically for a client.  Here are a few photos of bespoke shoes I've painted this week, and them the last pair is just for fun (they're for sale on Etsy).

 Above are a pair of Danskos for a friend, and below is my first pair for a guy.

 These are called Jitterbug Perfume, with a nod to Tom Robbins.  See them on Etsy!