A big fat shoe update

Pictured: Dr Martens Hincky Boot

Well, it feels like it's been a century since I last wrote a personal post. I've had a busy few weeks and because of that the blog has been a little neglected. I'm now getting back into the swing of things and have a few outfit posts/recipes/DIY ideas planned for the next few months!

At the beginning of the year I announced that I had big plans for my future with shoes and shoe design. One of my big goals this year is to learn how to make shoes (or at least begin to learn), It's been an ambition of mine for a long time. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE painting shoes, but it would be amazing to be able to design the whole product.

The first few weeks of 2013 were spent scouring the internet for short courses to learn how to make shoes. The ones I found were all based in London, and I couldn't learn nearly enough through one course to build a business on or base a career on. So there has been a little change of plan!

In February I found out about an apprenticeship scheme at Dr Martens! I love the Dr Martens brand, they make such fantastic shoes with a great attention to quality and functional design. Working for Dr Martens would be my dream job! So I went ahead and applied.

A couple of weeks ago I got to visit their English factory and see them making the "made in England" shoes, which was so interesting. England used to have a great trade of shoe making, so it's really refreshing to see a big, worldwide company keeping up the tradition.
Last week I was invited back for an interview and some tests, I should find out this week if I got the job. As I write this my stomach is churning with nerves!! I want this job so much.

Before I applied for the Dr Martens job, I'd also applied for the place on the shoe making course at London College of Fashion. Check out the shoes the students produce, they're freakin amazing. Last week I had an interview there and it went so well, and they accepted my application! I love the course leaders there, they're so enthusiastic about design, knowledgeable and very friendly. The course itself is like a dream come true. I'll get to learn everything I ever wanted to! I can't wait to get stuck in. It's a 2 year course with a view to doing a third year and getting a degree. They have so many competitions available to only LCF students and great contacts in the industry, it really is an amazing course.

Of course if I get the Dr Martens job I'll be taking that and putting uni on hold for a while. I don't think I'd be able to turn down the job of a lifetime!

The last couple of days I've finally been able to breathe again, I spent the last few weeks as an exhausted bag of nerves, constantly working on my portfolio and getting more and more worried about my interviews. It's great to finally get back to spending lots of cuddle time with the dogs & Tofu again (and Ash, of course).