Summer vacation is over, the Jack S5-91 post-bed sewing machine has arrived, and I finally had time to play with some custom Air Max 1 colourways.
It’s been a busy month or so, and it feels like I’m finally starting to make some progress. I ordered some leather swatches from A&A Crack & Sons, a UK-based leather supplier that came highly recommended. Tony at A&A Crack & Sons couldn’t have been any more helpful. He answered any queries I had about lining materials and even added some further samples to the order based on those queries.
The samples arrived super quick, but unfortunately, as I’m based in Ireland I was hit with import charges which makes me wonder if I should find a European leather supplier. Portugal and Italy seem to be the other two options.
The Jack S5-91 post-bed sewing machine also arrived. I sourced this from Poland and when it arrived I had to figure out how to get a 76kg beast of a sewing machine up a flight of stairs. I’m not going to lie when I say that this was the most stressful experience I have had in a long time. I was so happy for it to finally arrive, and then once it did, and I saw the size of the machine, the reality of what I was getting myself into finally hit.
Once we got it up the stairs, the task of piecing the various parts of the machine and table together started. The parts manual was in Chinese, I didn’t receive a user manual, and I have never used a machine like this before so there was a lot of back and forth with Zaw-Pol, the Polish supplier. Andrzej at Zaw-Pol was amazing by the way. It’s safe to say that although there is absolutely no information online about the Jack S5-91, Google was my closest friend over those few days. With a bit of search term creativity, I finally got the machine running.
I honestly should have started this process sooner but with vacations, visitors, the stress of the flight of stairs, and whatever else life threw at me, I never got around to it. Boxes have finally stopped arriving and I have most, if not all items, on the Shoemaker Equipment Checklist.
As you can see, I’m leaning more towards the softer colour palettes, with suede being the primary material, along with a combination of mesh and leather for the uppers. These initial Air Max 1 colourways are based on the donor pair I purchased a couple of months back, and the range of colours available from A&A Crack & Sons.
I’m very open to partnerships, so if you are a supplier of shoemaking tools, materials, or products and would like to partner up to promote them through our various social channels, feel free to get in touch.
I had another look at custom Air Max 1 colourways and I finally have a design that I’m happy with, so much so that I’ve already asked for and signed off on a leather quote…
Sneaker Making Progress: Custom Air Max 1 Colourways
Summer vacation is over, the Jack S5-91 post-bed sewing machine has arrived, and I finally had time to play with some custom Air Max 1 colourways.
It’s been a busy month or so, and it feels like I’m finally starting to make some progress. I ordered some leather swatches from A&A Crack & Sons, a UK-based leather supplier that came highly recommended. Tony at A&A Crack & Sons couldn’t have been any more helpful. He answered any queries I had about lining materials and even added some further samples to the order based on those queries.
The samples arrived super quick, but unfortunately, as I’m based in Ireland I was hit with import charges which makes me wonder if I should find a European leather supplier. Portugal and Italy seem to be the other two options.
The Jack S5-91 post-bed sewing machine also arrived. I sourced this from Poland and when it arrived I had to figure out how to get a 76kg beast of a sewing machine up a flight of stairs. I’m not going to lie when I say that this was the most stressful experience I have had in a long time. I was so happy for it to finally arrive, and then once it did, and I saw the size of the machine, the reality of what I was getting myself into finally hit.
Once we got it up the stairs, the task of piecing the various parts of the machine and table together started. The parts manual was in Chinese, I didn’t receive a user manual, and I have never used a machine like this before so there was a lot of back and forth with Zaw-Pol, the Polish supplier. Andrzej at Zaw-Pol was amazing by the way. It’s safe to say that although there is absolutely no information online about the Jack S5-91, Google was my closest friend over those few days. With a bit of search term creativity, I finally got the machine running.
Custom Air Max 1 Colourways
I honestly should have started this process sooner but with vacations, visitors, the stress of the flight of stairs, and whatever else life threw at me, I never got around to it. Boxes have finally stopped arriving and I have most, if not all items, on the Shoemaker Equipment Checklist.
As you can see, I’m leaning more towards the softer colour palettes, with suede being the primary material, along with a combination of mesh and leather for the uppers. These initial Air Max 1 colourways are based on the donor pair I purchased a couple of months back, and the range of colours available from A&A Crack & Sons.
Which pair would you go for? Let me know on this Instagram post.
I almost forgot to show the leather embossing stamps I had made for the tongue tags and heels. How nice are these?
Partnerships
I’m very open to partnerships, so if you are a supplier of shoemaking tools, materials, or products and would like to partner up to promote them through our various social channels, feel free to get in touch.
email: partnerships@somy.ie
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