Popdiatry would like to thank Carl Landerholm, president of the Brockton Historical Society for giving us an exclusive tour of the Brockton Shoe Museum on the last day of 2014.
A cobbler’s workbench and tool set as seen at the Brockton Shoe Museum
The museum- located 45 minutes south of Boston in Brockton Massachusetts– contains exhibits that trace the history of American shoe manufacturing with machines, products and ephemera from pre-revolution ’til Y2K. With permission, I’m sharing a few pictures.
Behold the Krippendorh Kalculator as seen at the Brockton Shoe Museum
The machine above, a Krippendorf Kalculator, was used to maximize leather surface cutting as in the manner shown below by enabling super precise measurements per piece.
The Brockton Shoe Museum is currently open twice a month (every other Sunday) or by special appointment.
The Brockton Historical Society,Inc.
216 North Pearl Street (Rte. 27)
Brockton, MA 02041
(Exit 18B off Route 24)
508-583-1039
Encased in glass, pardon the reflection-
Brockton Shoe Museum: Shoes worn by former US presidents George Bush and Gerald Ford
Among other notable donations, they have footwear displayed from four US presidents as well as ones worn by boxers Rocky Marciano and Primo Carnera.
Brockton Shoe Museum: Sneakers worn by former US presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy CarterBoxing shoe worn by champion fighter Rocky Marciano
They have a lot of Auntie Anne’s pretzel outposts at the Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey. There was also a Vans store, where I was able to get this checkered stocking pic to lead off this month’s Pop-gallery.
Drillbit heels in the deadpile outside East Village Shoe Repair in Brooklyn.
Sneaker specific pawn spots, like this one on Broadway..
Here’s one I wish I had when I wrote aboutDexter brand shoes last summer. I discovered my grandmother had a swell pair of classic made-in-USA Dexters in her closet.
Staying hydrated during long walks is important, and sometimes you’re going to want something other than plain water. Everyone has their favorite thing at Philadelphia’s bustling Reading Terminal Market eatery. I declare this as my favorite drink there: the Victory Thirst Quencher- a standout from the wonderful selection of fresh drinks at Lanc. Co. Dairy .
I had a chance to chat with the friendly folks from Bumbums & Baubles footwear- a rising star in the world of kids’ shoes- specifically shoes for young girls.
Bumbums Grape Pop Sadie Sandals (mybumbums.com)
Each pair of Bumbums girls’ shoes comes with a pair of accesories called baubles– small ornaments that can be optionally attached to various parts of the shoes, other garments, or wherever the imagination directs.
Alternate baubles can be purchased separately and inexpensively. The creators of Bumbums hope to inject some pizzaz and playfulness into girls’ footwear while appeasing the moms who often make the purchases. Some of their shoes have a vulcanized skater/Vansy look, and I’m told that may be the influence of a former Supra designer they have working on the current line. Check B&B out in-depth at MyBumbums.com
DJ Freddy Blassie with some perfectly untied Nikes
Why not use a baby Doc as a pen holder like Bleecker Street Records?
A leather belt I got for $14 at Marshalls is being sprayed with Meltonian #651 to match some very special shoes… Thanks East Village Shoe Repair.
Here at Popdiatry, we’ve been writing about the Berry Amendment, and the sense of having U.S. armed forces gear being domestically made. But I go to a store and see these cheap made-in-China boots branded by the US Army- with a dog tag? I’m writing my congress person ASAP! These boots are hideous, and whoever OK’d this should be peeling potatoes.
Have you heard of Because International– the shoe that is meant to be adjustable from size 5 to a size 12?
A still of a sketch from Vimeo.com/TobinRogers African kids try out some prototypes of adjustable size shoes. Still from Vimeo.com/TobinRogers
The creator of these wants a lasting shoe that can be adjusted according to the growth spurts of school-aged children with the use of straps and snaps. It’s a great idea. I’d be interested in seeing if it can be achieved in a non-janky manner.
Some day, touch screen devices will be able to transmit a true sense of touch. You’d be able to run your finger over this shot of the collaboration Viberg Boots did with Leffot (Manhattan) and feel the eye-catching grain of the triple bullhide.
Instagram.com/leffot
These beasts went available for pre-order on Leffot’s site Saturday. Are you on the list?
“Joe leaves big shoes to fill – on and off the field… “saidTampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn about Joe Maddon, who announced Saturday he’d be opting out as the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team coach for 2015.
New Balance umpire shoes
Which reminds me; I was flicking through the Zappos app the other day and saw these New Balance MU950 (made in China) “umpire” shoes. According to NewBalance.com the 950 series is the official on-field footwear of Major League Baseball umpires. I like the look of that sole; I’d call it ‘cleat lite’. They even have other styles with big pads over the lace deck. Surely a hit for your umpire Halloween costume.
New Balance screenshot from Eastbay.com
Random
Rapper Shoes: A still of some Birdmans from the Rich Gang video for “Lifestyle”
There was something else I was going to write about but I have to hop off now. I’ll leave you with this authentic robo-crafted piece of spam-poetry. Think of it as an online fortune of sorts: Click to enlarge.
First off, this post was created using Handcrafted Artisanal Internet:
Take a close look. Take a closer look. The ones on the left are animalistic, but use no real animal parts. They ones on the right are worn by the dreamer upper of both pairs- Rachel Eisley for Gotham City Leatherwork.
Ernie Papp, the lead singer of Ten Ton Mojo performs barefoot at Trash Bar in Brooklyn last Thursday.
Pardon the blur. Some faux-didas repping PR spotted in the East Village Shoe Repair deadpile.
We started an Instagram for Popdiatry. At first I wasn’t sure what I should post. Good pictures would be used here, but since I started writing for Pop D, I’ve been spotting more discarded footwear than ever. So our Instagram will be mostly abandoned, thrown away shoes- like these above spotted on Broadway in Brooklyn, NY.
NBA is back in a couple weeks! Didja see the clip of Laker’s Ronnie Pricethrowing his Nike (after it fell off) at Golden State Warrior Andre Iguodala?
Attention: Used Derek Jeter game socks are on sale from Steiner Sports Memorabilia for only $409.99. Peep the screenshot.
Not a joke
Since you bought a baseball player’s sock for so much, it put a huge dent in your basketball sneaker budget and you can no longer afford $240 forthese newTitolo Reebok pumps. No problem because Shaquille O’Neal now has his own inexpensive brand of high-tops available at Walmart.
Pic by Funyagi
It’s no secret that Nike is chomping their competition in worldwide sneaker and apparel sales. Rival Adidas went and hired three Nike design vetsand will stick them in a Brooklyn design studioin hopes they can carve a bigger piece of the North American pie.
Since you bought that Jeter sock, you won’t have enough for a pair of these $400 New Balance Horween leather models
ubiqlife.com
Bus to Philly for a chance to buy some of these limited edition U.S. made NBs on October 1st: $11
ubiqlife.com
It appears the New BalanceBerry-compliant 950v2 models we talked about earlier this year may be closer to hitting real ground.
New Balance
Members of congress visited a New Balance biomechanical research/prototype lab in Lawrence, Massachusetts last month to see how an athletic sneaker is made entirely in The United States using US materials. The Department of Defense is expected to make a decision soon about enforcing a rules that states new military recruits should buy products (sneakers) made in the USA with their vouchers. Read the full article in Navy Times.
Pssst. There’s still a few days to see the Shoerageousexhibit put on by Creativity Explored in San Francisco, CA. There you’ll see a handpicked collection of drawings and sculpture inspired by the shoe and sneaker.
You already know right? Basketball star Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace..
mettaworldpeace.com
He’s playing for the Sichuan Blue Whales in the Chinese Basketball Association this year.
twitter.com/MettaWorldPeace
Art came to life via sneakers and books available for sale directly from Metta’s World Wide Website.
From MettaWorldPeace.com
twitter.com/mettaworldpeace
What more can I say? He’s top billing.
You are going to get it; shoes with blood designed onto them. The NBA’s Dwyane Wade posted them first.
Grabbed from instagram.com/dwyanewade
Sneakers actually; just in time for Halloween from Li-Ning. They might have something promotional to do with a cable TV show about a killer. Surely they’ll be great to wear at job interviews and other dress-to-impress occasions.
Grabbed from instagram.com/dwyanewade
Not to be misread as the shoe company Dexter– the old school New England brand whose founder is said to have started the country’s first factory-outlet…
DexterBowling.com
Readers may recognize Dexter as the inexpensive offerings seen on JC Penny, Payless, and Sears shelves. Did you know Dexter has a deluxe bowling category and sell what they claim is the world’s most advanced bowling shoe– the SST 8, featuring removable heels and soles?
Visualiser at dexterbowling.com
What are.
The most expensive shoes in the world ?
What more can you say about the shoes Nick Cannon wore hosting an America’s Got Talent TV show? Shown above kindly removing before walking on a performer’s smart dress…
Grabbed from instagram.com/jasonofbh
Cannon and Tom Ford brought them to life in the form of diamond encrusted loafers. Jason the jeweler tags them at 2 million. Chances are they’ll be auctioned off for charity; then we’ll see if they fetch more than some $666,000 ruby red slippers that Judy Garland had worn while filming Wizard of Oz did at a Christie’s auction fourteen years ago.
Smithsonian
According to Guinness, no one knows how many red shoes Garland used in the production of W.O.O. The above pic is from the Smithsonian (not the pair auctioned).
One more thing: Toe cameras put the sneak in sneaker.
A Japanese law-enforcement official points out the pinhead camera embedded in a brand of sneakers which have already sold 2,500 pairs while society figures out if they should be legal. It’s a law tightrope, because multiple cameras on just about everything we wear are “OK” (really though?) , but being so easily able to take photos upwardly, undetected… skirt wearers take note.
You heard about the Killer Heels exhibit taking place at the Brooklyn museum- “The Art of The High-Heeled Shoe”. Along with shoes like these…
Old Italian Chopine from Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Eamz by Rem D. Koolhaas
Bamboo Heel w/plastic zip ties by Winde Rienstra
there are some original short films running alongside the exhibit that use the heel as a conceptual starting point. Check out this teaser of SMASH by Marilyn Minter:
What about guys who want to wear something killer? We need to look in the direction of boots…
like these Salomon S-Lab X Alp Carbon GTX waterproof mountaineering boots- shown here with optional crampons.
For more formal situations, Allen Edmonds just released some new boot models. This leather mid caught my eye.
AE Odenwald Boot
The Allen Edmonds website is using this “see with pants” feature, which allows you to visuallyaudition the look of their shoe with different pairs of pants.
Nice. While the online revolution continues to make it easier for us to avoid brick and mortar shops, a company in New York City happily invites you to their place in the East Village to try on some select handmade footwear called Sabahs.
sabah.am
Sabahs are a new school take on traditional footwear worn 1000 years ago in southeastern Turkey/Syria (think: mellowed-out genie slippers). An American exposed to the style in Istanbul sought out old school cobblers in Gaziantep Turkey to recreate modern versions of this ancient loafer in which high quality leather uppers are handstitched to rubber soles.
sabah.am
The makers of Sabahs encourage the wearing of their footwear sockless, with no fear of swampfoot. The leather bootie shapes around the foot after a few wears as they become more ‘you’. If you can’t pop-up at their base in NYC, Keep an eye on their IG to catch where they might be travelling next. For more check Sabah.com
Happy September. It’s time for one of these liquid posts.
No need to remind me.
Shout Out to Four Seasons Hotel Slippers
I had a great time at Afropunk in Brooklyn last month. Besides music coming from 3 stages and a sound-truck, there was BMX freestyle, and a little section of pop-up shops. I don’t know too much about these sandals, but I snapped a quick pic when I was strolling through. They were being sold by Jawdroppers Jewelry. Pony was one of the sponsors of the fest. I’m not sure how I feel about their “Product Of New York” marketing slogan. They had a try-on booth in effect.
Product of a screenshot from Pony’s Instagram account
Maybe someone got the idea blazing to the Capone-N-Noreaga song T.O.N.Y. (Top Of New York). It has to be tough to stand out from the Nike-Puma-Asics-didas world order. I’m sure the people who work at Pony are fine folks, but the slogan seems to be insinuating that Pony Sneakers are made in New York– which they are not. I understand Bronx & Harlem fashion culture of the late 70s-early 80s produced an environment where sneakers pushed shoes aside as the choice for city dwellers on-the-move, but Product of New York is a very misleading statement. I’ll leave it at that.
Just this weekend I swung through the Bushwick Vendors Market held at Silent Barn In Brooklyn. This high-heel shaped ring holder caught my eye being sold by Sanai Essentials.
I love my Dynomighty Tyvek wallet. Ever since I got my first bank account card sheathed in an everlasting Tyvek sleeve, I’ve been fascinated by DuPont’s durable, long-lasting super paper. I was even surprised when I read thisNew York Times articleabout a couple companies based in New Jersey that use Tyvek in their shoe designs.
Papes
Civic Duty (Secaucus) and Unstitched Utilities (East Brunswick, pictured above) use the Tyvek selective barrier technology in most or some of their Keds/Vans-like steppers. P.O.N.J.
As a Red Sox fan (Go PawSox!), I’d pretend I didn’t see this at Bob’s Store in Randolph, MA., but here’s a picture. Definitely not handmade, definitely not real diamonds- this is a high heel shaped wine bottle holder made of metal. You’d have to be buzzed to buy it.
I caught this patient on the operating table at the hospital they callEast Village Shoe Repair in Brooklyn. I’m sure our patient is back on the streets in good spirits as I hit post on the September Pop Gallery.
