Making Espadrilles in Barcelona

An opportunity came up on INSTAGRAM last week with the Barcelona shoe brand I adore, Naguisa. Their post announced a workshop to make a pair of their famed espadrilles (L´espardenya) from scratch! I jumped at the chance, secured a spot and now have myself these amazing pair of shoes which I made with my own two hands!   

I have always loved Spanish shoes for their effortless style and the high quality leathers they use. Naguisa´s shoes are no exception. The shoes I made are a traditional shoe worn since 1322 in Cataluna, Valencia and Murcia. They are made with a jute sole and are a feminine and modern take on the traditional shoe. Naguisa currently stock their range in 16 countries and produce a summer range of shoes each year. Like Petit Barcelona, they are chasing the eternal summer. So, what better way to spend a Saturday in Barcelona, than meeting new people, making shoes and getting to try on Naguisa´s new SS17 collection.

 LANGUAGE BARRIERS

We started the day off with Claudia, co-founder of Naguisa (she is a product designer and owns the small business with her husband Pablo, and architect), kicking off the workshop with a quick introduction. All in Spanish and Catalan. As I listened intently, I soon realized that we were to go around the room and introduce ourselves. Normally in Australia this would be like water off a duck´s back but the panic kicked in as I realized I was 2nd in line to talk to the small group of 10 people. ABOUT ME. IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE!

Before I knew it, I was babbling away in Spanish and hoping to god people were following (I was using a lot of hand gestures to get my point across as per usual)...

HANDMADE

We were split into groups and shown all of the elements we were to tackle in creating our shoes from scratch. In 5 hours we should have our shoes completed and on our feet. After choosing our ribbon and back heel leather colour (which took me forever) we started cutting out the leather, nailing holes, hole punching the toe piece and sewing the elastic straps on. Whilst all of this hard work was happening, I took the opportunity to try on as many of Naguisa´s SS17 shoe collection as I could! The leather used on their shoes is beautiful and soft. The colour range is extensive and I could easily have walked away with 8-10 pairs.

Source: @pablodesignos

FINAL HAND SEWING
Once the ribbon was threaded meticulously through the toe and heel piece, we rounded up the workshop by spending a few hours hand stitching the entire shoe onto the jute sole. This was very hard going. With a very large needle and waxy type string, we learnt to thread the string blanket stitch, through the tough jute and into the leather and canvas. Once I got into the rhythm of sewing, I was off and flying. 

Source: @pablodesignos

FASHION FORWARD 
My shoes are now finished and I´m so happy to say I have been wearing them everywhere. With jeans, harem pants and no doubt in Summer with dresses and jumpsuits. They are ridiculously comfortable as is every single pair in the collection. 

Keep an eye out hopefully for a few of their styles in our store later this year!

Lauren x

www.naguisa.com