By Henry Budd<\/p>\n
Shoemaker Andrew McDonald puts heart and "sole" into his work. A single pair of his handmade shoes can take more than 40 hours to make. And the 46-year-old does not mince words about just how difficult it is to produce a custom-made pair of shoes.<\/p>\n
"It is hard work, it is physically demanding and it’s time consuming," he says.<\/p>\n
"Not only does a shoe have to look good, feel good and last – it has to perform a function: it has to be able to get you from A to B."<\/p>\n
These days, the old craft of shoemaking in Sydney is a cottage industry, and all the designers know each other. <\/p>\n
Each of the designers has a niche in the market and McDonald specialises in high-end men’s and women’s fashion. <\/p>\n
"You have to make shoes that are going to fit the trend of the season," he says.<\/p>\n
"You can’t make shoes that women are not going to want to buy, or guys for that matter.<\/p>\n
"It has to be cool, and if it is not cool forget it. But at the same time you have to blend in your own style or signature."<\/p>\n
McDonald has also designed shoes for many of the big-budget films that have been shot in Sydney, including Wolverine, Superman and the Star Wars trilogy.<\/p>\n
He splits his time between designing his next range and doing fittings with customers. He also outsources some of the shoemaking process to a few trusted master craftsmen. <\/p>\n
"I have a guy who does all the upper machining – all the stitch work you do on top. I can do it but I have a guy who is quicker and cheaper," he says.<\/p>\n
Many of the people McDonald uses and learns from are older craftspeople who have made shoes all their lives but are now approaching retirement.<\/p>\n
"It is becoming harder and harder for me to find people to learn from," he says. <\/p>\n
"I’ve been doing this for 17 years and, seriously, I will reach my peak when I turn 60."<\/p>\n
McDonald tried his hand at a couple of different professions before he found his way into shoemaking. After two years of training to become a general nurse, he embarked on a career in photography.<\/p>\n
"One of the commissions I had was to photograph a guy who was making shoes in London and I thought, ‘This looks like a very interesting thing he’s doing’," he says.<\/p>\n
"I came back to Australia and went back to TAFE to learn how to make shoes.
"I was still doing a bit of photography but slowly and surely the shoes [took] hold."<\/p>\n
In 1996 he won a Churchill Fellowship to study with craftspeople in the UK and France.<\/p>\n
"The best part about it, and the part I get the least amount of time to do, is design," he adds.<\/p>\n
The Daily Telegraph<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Henry Budd Shoemaker Andrew McDonald puts heart and "sole" into his work. A single pair of his handmade shoes can take more than 40 hours to make. And the 46-year-old does not mince words about just how difficult it is to produce a custom-made pair of shoes. "It is hard work, it is physically […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n