rom the ECHID e-mailbag...
...a peek at the clogs of one of this blog's male readers, le1ljs.
He's a confirmed Multnomah Leather Shop fan, too. His message begins,
As requested, here is a photo of my small collection.
From left to right:
“Classic w/ Perf Strap”: These were my very first pair from Mark, many years ago. They’ve been well worn, and yes, I am very hard on shoes. Originally they had the regular smooth outsole. When I wore them out, I had Mark put on the Vibram Lugz. Since getting my boots and sandals, these don’t get to see the light of day very often any more.
“Amanda boot” with Lugz and brass eyelets: Originally smooth black and natural wood. I’ve put the shine on them and blacked the sole. The laces are Kevlar, they lost their color within about a week of putting them in, but they’ve well outlasted the original laces. But they take the shoe polish real good, and then become real stiff, that’s why they aren’t black all the way up. These are my “dress” shoes.
“Leslie Sandal”: THE ORIGINAL pair. These are the prototype of the “Leslie sandal” - my design. Yes, I’ve darkened them and shined them. They are now my mainstay pair. I wear them almost daily, great casual shoe. Goes great with blue jeans!
(On my feet as I type. The original prototype “Leslie” sandal.) Mark is working on a second pair of “Leslie” for me with satiny black leather and black soles.
If there is any one thing that I can say about Mark is that he really takes care of his clients. When I sent my “Classic” pair back to him for resoling, he also repaired some damage and repaired where some of the nails were pulling out. He made notes of this and when he built my “Amanda” boots, he made adjustments.
That said, he has a list of changes from me for the [new "Leslie"] sandal: longer instep/ankle strap, roller buckles, filling in the rabbet from the vamp to the heel cup (the groove he makes for nailing the leather), and a different style of lug sole. He has even offered to make some of the changes to my current pair AT NO CHARGE. But I am happy with them; the changes are “fine tuning”. Mark has my business for now and in the future. It’s NICE having shoes actually made to fit MY foot, not some “standard” form. My feet aren’t standard. They’re unique…LIKE ME!
DOC bless you, my friend! I think we're all unique on this blog, and that's what I love about hanging out with this crowd!
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[On my feet as I blog: they arrived! The Cosima Tall clog boots from UGG Australia. (My olive green shearling clog boots from Sven Clogs look on with envy.) Brace yourself for a barrage of posts that say nothing more than "OMG!"]
le1ljs, how completely cool! It's fun to see your Multnomah collection—and I agree, Mark is great to work with and a consummate craftsman.
Posted by: Melissa Krebs | 10/26/2012 at 08:53 AM
Oh, those are good. They are very very good. I am happy to see the Cosima in action.
Posted by: Tea | 10/26/2012 at 02:56 PM
Hi i think you blog is brilliant as a clog wearer myself i would like to send you some pictures of my work boot clogs ! I guarantee you have not seen anything like these. how do i send you a picture?cheers
Posted by: crushclogs | 01/02/2013 at 03:05 PM