THE PRODUCTION

Shoe construction technique

The alterna was made using the cement or stuck on construction, which is used for lightweight and flexible footwear. In this construction type, the outsole is stuck to the upper by an adhesive. This construction also could make use of a Bonwelt, which is a strip of welting attached by stitching or cementing a welt to the top edge of the insole. The shoe is then flat lasted. This is not a true welt construction like the Goodyear welt where the welt is attached to the rib of the insole.

The making of any piece of footwear whether sandal, sneaker involves the combined process of: Clicking, Closing, Bottom Stock Preparation, Lasting, Making and Finishing.

Clicking

This is a process where the skins, hides or man-made materials are cut into the shoe upper sections.

Closing

To produce an upper, the various upper sections are stitched together.

Bottom Stock Preparation

This is where the process of cutting and preparing bottom components (such as soles and insoles) takes place.

Lasting

Gathering and shaping the assembled uppers on the last and fixing the upper on to the insole.

Making

A number of processes by which heels and soles are attached to the lasted shoe. Finishing

Where the process of improving the durability and appearance of the shoe by various operations such as bottom securing and edge trimming.

In order for the alterna to be produced, I had to seek for some technical assistance from a shoemaker- fortunately for me; I got in touch with Mrs Adijat Kudirat Williams (who put me through the basics of shoemaking) through a reporter for the Guardian newspapers that interviewed her.

THE CLICKING PROCESS

The patterns for the vamp, straps and quarter (which make up the upper) of the sandal were cut out on paper and the cut outs served as a guide to cut out the patterns from the materials to be used for the upper. Figures a-c THE CLOSING PROCESS

The closing process involved attaching all the cut patterns of the upper with glue and stitching them, when the glue got dry. The upper was also lined with synthetic leather to enhance comfort and durability THE BOTTOM STOCK PREPARATION

I used Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) of varying thicknesses for the outsole and midsole of the sandal and a piece of cardboard which serves as a shock dissipater and stability giver. The process involved cutting, gluing and shaping of the materials involved.

The insole

For the insole to be made, I made use of the piece of cardboard (the board last material) EVA and kid leather. The board last as earlier stated serves as a stability giver and shock dissipater while the eva that was glued to the board last serves as a cushioning material and the kid leather functions as the topsole of the sandal.

The process in pictures

A. The last which, is the form in figure a, served as a guide for the acquisition of a footform for the board last using the last as a guide I made an outline of the form it provided on the cardboard and then had it cut out (figure b)

B.I then proceeded to attach the EVA to the cardboard by using glue (evostick) fig a- d on the next page Note: The combination of eva and cardboard serves as the insole

C. The kid leather (the topsole material) was then glued to the insole

Note: a shank was paced within the sandals waist underneath the insole. The waist of the sandal is between heel and ball corresponding to the medial and lateral arches

The outsole and midsole

D. To make the outsole and midsole, I glued EVA foam of varying thickness together. The thicker EVA (figure a) forms the outsole because it has traction provided by the tread pattern and the nature of the material and the other EVA foam acts as the midsole, which provides cushioning. (Figure b) Note: EVA foam is lightweight, flexible and resilient foam used in the footwear industry as a midsole material. The midsole of a shoe serves the purpose of providing cushioning to the foot and is located between the upper and the outsole. I decided to use this material not just for the midsole only, but for the outsole also since, it has provisions for traction (the tread pattern). The outsole, also by its nature serves as a cushioning agent in this case.

E. After attaching them, I cut an irregular footform. The photos below show the attached and cutout EVA foams

F. I cut out a piece of the midsole material and glued it to the heel section of the midsole and outsole so as to make for more cushioning at the heel. The heel takes much of the impact forces when the foot strikes the ground, the extra piece of cushioning helps the heel absorb shock better thus protecting it. Welting

The welt process refers to the process of using a welt which is a strip of leather or other material (in the alterna’s EVA), glued or stitched into a shoe between the sole and the upper. The welt could be decorative or functional. When functional it makes a shoe more stable (Goodyear welt). The alterna uses an imitation welt for decorative purposes.

G. I got some glue on the inner side of the welt, I then thereafter placed the insole on the irregular shaped outsole and midsole combination and using the same insole as a guide placed some glue on the border of the insole. The welt was then placed along the borders of the insole and attached to the outsole/midsole combination. Photos on next page:

H. The outsole/midsole combination’s exact shape was then gotten through the use of a bench grinder that “shaves” off unwanted parts of an object The outsole/midsole combination

THE LASTING PROCESS

This process involved correctly positioning the attached and stitched uppers on the last and then attaching the upper to the insole.

I. To attach the insole to the upper, the inner part of the insole had to be made blunt to make for easy application of glue using the bench grinder

J. After make the inner surface blunt, the insole was attached to the upper through the use of the evostick glue. The last remains in between the insole and the upper during the process.

The toebox area of the upper, had a piece of synthetic leather attached to the inner this serves as an internal toe guard. THE MAKING PROCESS This process involves removing the last from in between the already attached upper and insole and attaching the outsole/midsole combination to the upper.

K. To attach the outsole/midsole to the upper the same good ol’ evostick glue was employed. The glue was applied to the inner surface of the outsole/midsole and the outer surface of the insole. This act lead to the images below:

THE FINISHING PROCESS

The finishing process, first of all involved carefully removing all traces of dirt and then using leather dye to cover all “unblack” spots on the sandal and thereafter enhancing its appearance through the application of high quality neutral and black shoe polish.

THE FINISHED PRODUCT The shoebox

The shoebox for the alterna was made using strawboard, evostick and transparent sticker paper.

The process

The layout of the shoebox was done using CorelDraw 11 I made a print (using an inkjet printer) of the shoebox on embossed cardboard paper and then mounted same on strawboard. After mounting, I then built the box and covered it all up with sticker paper to preserve the print and also enhance the appearance of the box

The alterna in the box

All photographs 2005. Karo Akpokiere. The text is formed from shoe articles gotten from the internet and from being part of the production process.