I have to admit something. These last years I've became a work-boots geek.
I am kind of intense when I inmerse into something, so I had to read every book of workboots and antique shoemaking that I found.
In this post, I would love to travel in time and go to 1600, to the colonies of New England, United States.
I was lucky enough to go to the surrandings few days ago. I could sense that magical energy and day-dream a little about the firsts shoemakers in North America.
So sit down, because you won't believe I have the names: Thomas Beard and Isaac Rickerman. They arrived to Salem in 1629 in the 2nd voyage of a boat called Mayflower. The 3rd shoemaker was Phillip Kertland that settled in Lynn, Massachusetts, ten years after.
People from the 13 colonies needed shoes, so every shoemaker that arrived were spread out in isolated cabins in the forest along New England.
Farmers used to tan hides and skins from their own cattle. They used to sank an old boat is his yard for tanning the leather with the pelts barks from trees.
Shoemakers were very wellcomed, but in the colonies, there weren't enough people to keep them busy all the time. So the ones that didn't want to travel, used to also sharpen knives, mend furniture, cut hair and even pull teeth because they were the only ones that have pincers (yeah... perfect for a horror movie, I know).
The traveller ones, used to make a 'travel kit' with: a flat face hammer, awls, pincer, knife, a lap stone that they picked up from the seashore, some hand forged nails, linen thread, bee wax and some leather.
Can you picture it too? Definetely, I would have chosen to be a traveller...
If you want to know more, I can keep writing! With love,
Eugenia
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