Cobble, cobble! The Chicago School of Shoemaking calls...

Can it be true?  A real school to teach people how to make actual, legit shoes?  The Chicago School of Shoemaking, open in the Ravenswood neighborhood since September 2011, offers classes in making boots, sandals, bags & other items.  The owner, Sara McIntosh, also runs a custom handmade shoe shop, Sara's Shoes, out of the same space.

The London boot

I have made my own shoes a few times, the only way I knew how, via the 1978 book Make Your Own Shoes by Mary Wales Loomis.  Eerily, I discovered Wales' book and other similar esoteric "how to make" books among my grandmother's belongings when she grew too feeble for them to be of use - including the exact same edition of Make Your Own Japanese Clothes that I own.  Sometimes the genetic thing gets quite spooky. 

The Rome patent captoe

The eight Yelpers who cared enough to write think it's the bees knees.  Hmm....