Textiles for Shoe Design

Textiles for Shoe Design: If you want to learn how to design shoes you must have an understanding of fabrics.  Fabrics, or textiles, are a miracle material for footwear designers!  With an infinite variety of weaves, knits, colors, patterns, and special features, textiles have a special […]

inside a shoe last factory

Tour a Shoe Last Factory

Today we are visiting a shoe last factory operated by a good friend of mine, Jackie Huang. The Dongguan Lian Xiang shoe last factory is located on a busy side street in the South China shoemaking town of Houjie. Jackie operates the business and meets […]

Shoe Material Design Guide

The Shoe Material Design Guide – Our newest book!!

Do you want to be a professional shoe designer? You must learn how to select and specify each shoe material correctly. Our newest book, The Shoe Material Design Guide, details all the shoe materials you will need to make modern athletic, classic casuals, and high fashion […]

see inside the Nike Kobe Elite XI, How are shoes constructed? Types of shoe construction

Shoe Dissection: Inside the Nike Kobe XI Elite Low

Shoe Dissection: See Inside Nike Kobe XI Elite Low Today we have a pair of the Nike™ Kobe XI Elite Lows in the Sneaker factory teardown lab. The color is Hyper Grape, Black with a clear gel sole. Sorry to all you Nike and Kobe […]

First pullover shoe making blog

10 Best Shoemaking Blogs

Are you interested in learning more about various stages of the shoemaking process? Perhaps you’d like to see inside bespoke shoe factories?  If you want to start your own shoe brand and learn more about how shoes are made and what materials, equipment, and tools […]

shoe design color Book

Pantone Colors for Shoe Designers

The Pantone Color Book:  The Shoe Designers Must Have Tool. Your new shoe is ready to be manufactured, how do you explain the perfect shade of red you have in mind to the sample maker in China or Italy? You could collect material swatches and […]

How shoes lasts are Made

How Shoe Lasts are Made

The shoe last is the starting point for any shoe design project and is critical to the shape and function of all types of footwear. The last is used by the shoe factory to determine the shape of the shoe. The last also determines the fit, […]

Outsole mold with locater pins

How Rubber Shoe Soles are Made

 Margom S.P.A is a producer of rubber soles. We can thank Charles Goodyear for his perseverance. In 1844, after years of experimentation, Charles Goodyear finally invented the process of heating natural rubber mixed with sulfur to create shoe rubber.He called it vulcanization, and this is […]