"I have always done a lot of sewing, including making purses, belts, hats, etc. One day I was looking at my shoes and wondered how they were made. I went for the screwdriver, hammer and pliers and took them apart! I thought if I could duplicate those parts and put them together I would be able to make a pair of shoes! Since I was familiar with working with buckram and felt (from making hats) I used both in making a top for the shoe."

"I knew I needed a "form" to shape the shoes. I filled a pair of shoes (and ruined them of course) with plaster of Paris. I had to cut the shoe away to get the form out."

"After I made the tops I was not sure what I would do for the soles. I went to a shoe repairman who advised me to use tooling leather. He said it was flexible, and easy to cut with a pair of leather scissors. He also told me the kind of cement used in shoemaking. It is called "Barge" cement. All shoe repairmen and the industry use it. I call it "one chance" cement because once you have used it you CANNOT get it apart."

"I make shoes to match most of my clothes. The inner construction of the shoe is the same no matter what the outer fabric is."

To find out more about Mary, making shoes or to pick up a copy of her book, visit her website.