Sarah... A Day in the Life of a Shoe Designer

Quick Tip

Sarah Rotering made her first pair of shoes at age ten. Inspired by high heels she was forbidden to own, she took matters into her own hands. In her mother’s sewing kit, she found two spools of thread. She used these as the heels, and attached a sole made of cardboard. She covered the cardboard with pink construction paper, and wove red yarn up over the feet, ankles and calves in a dizzying feat of fastening. Now with a bio like that, can you see why I simply had to learn more!

I understand that you actually make shoes for a living. Can you tell us how you started?

I looked for years for someone to apprentice with, and had no luck, until one day I got a phone call from the shoemaker for Disney's The Lion King here in Toronto. He needed an assistant for a day or two, and had heard through the grapevine that I might be interested. I stayed there for about three years.

How did you learn your craft? I wouldn't think that anyone could simply create a pair of shoes with no training what-so- ever. I for one, wouldn't know where to start!

My background is in theatre wardrobe, so I had a very general understanding of basic pattern-cutting. With a little bit of instruction from Jeff Churchill (the shoemaker for Lion King), I extrapolated and experimented. In 2001 I attended the London College of Fashion's footwear program to make sure what I was doing was right, and it mostly was, with a few changes.

How long does it take to create one pair of shoes from start to finish?

I usually plan for about 20-25 hours of labour alone. Fittings,designing, and pattern-making can lengthen this amount of time.

Can you tell us about your most unusual pair of shoes?

Probably the most attention-getting pair I've ever made was a pair of calf-length red boots with a pocket on the outside of the right leg to hold my cell phone. (They can be seen on my website.) Either those or the Wonder Woman boots I made, red with a white stripe running down the centre front.

With your practised eye, I would assume that you can look at a pair of shoes in a shop and know whether they were well made or not. What would you look for?

I look for glue around the seams, for straight stitchlines, and for an even last. If you hold the back of the shoe up to yoru eye level, you will be able to see if anything is crooked. Of course, I always look for signs like leather linings, which are incredibly important, and reinforced centre back seams in non- dress shoes.

Who is your standard client?

About half my business comes from Toronto's theatre community, and the other half are private clients. They tend to be female, age 25 and up, and they are artists or interested/ involved in the arts. They tend to have a unique sense of style and they prefer not to see their own clothing/shoes ten times a day on the street! With 90% of the shoes these days being made in China, a woman's opportunity to develop her own style of footwear is certainly curbed, and my client is an individual.

Who to date is your most interesting/famous client?

All my clients interesting, and famous in their own circles!

Be sure to stop by Sarah's site to take a look at more of her designs. Roteringshoes