Are two small holes in the upper of a shoe enough to make us children and girls again? Apparently yes, if we are all so sensitive to the whirlwind of memories that a shoe can unleash in us.
It is a simple, essential model, which gave me the opportunity to talk about doing two things that I had long dreamed of: the first, to use a shoe as a pretext to talk about a subject dear to me, such as motherhood; the second, to collaborate with a Marche-based company that I have known for years and that shares the artisan philosophy with me: Eureka The Originals.
I wrote this article to tell you about our latest limited edition project: Breath of Mother.
How the Soffio di Madre project was born
The project was born to "put your feet on the ground", to talk about a delicate and fascinating theme: motherhood. I thought and thought about it for months, trying to figure out how to talk about it, even if I had quite clear ideas. I wanted to tell about motherhood far from any stereotype, from the concept of mother seen only as a natural, wonderful question, impossible to question a priori.
I have chosen to tell myself, to question myself, I who have always preferred to keep my life to myself, especially in its most intimate aspects. Then, instead, I realized that it makes sense to talk about those more delicate moments, because sharing stories, experiences, knowledge allows you to overcome any pain.
So I retraced my experiences as a mother, using shoes as a pretext.
I told how difficult it was to become a mother for the first time, how little it is to get pregnant when you want it.
There is very little talk of the pain connected to these experiences, it still seems that everything is wrapped in an imperceptible fog, the one that characterizes every taboo. Impossible to talk about the children we lose before they can be born, it is inconvenient to talk about the difficulty in getting pregnant. This, perhaps, because motherhood is still experienced as a social and not strictly personal fact. A problem of any kind related to motherhood has always been hidden, perhaps for fear of having to justify it.
For months I tried to become a mother, but I couldn't. Emma came after an intense journey to rediscover myself, listening to everything my body was trying to tell me. A journey that I had to do alone, forgetting everything I knew about being a mother.
Despite this, I can say that I have experienced two splendid pregnancies and even the birth was not problematic. I was able to listen to my body and who I was growing up. Becoming a mother changed my way of thinking: as my belly grew I felt responsible for another life.
Immediately after Emma's birth, however, the difficult time came. That being still so small was already so "cumbersome". I felt chained, stuck, something was bursting inside me, and despite the love I felt for my daughter, I just wanted to escape.
After a few months, I discovered that I had shingles, the cause of so many physical and mental pains. My body has always given me clear signals, long before the mind.
Today, when I think back to the pain and that feeling of being sucked into a vortex, I am moved. I feel I have made many strides in being a woman and a mother, but I also think that stumbling and finding yourself back in the vortex is much easier than you think.
Breath of Mother was born precisely to talk about it, to share stories, to tell oneself without fear.
Why Breath of Mother
Why this particular name? I have always associated with my idea of parenting the shower head, one of my favorite flowers.
As a child, when I walked with my parents in the countryside, I enjoyed looking for them, then blowing on them making a wish. As an adult, I acquired a new vision, both of the flower and of the breath. The seeds seem to perfectly represent the phase of detachment of children from their mother. They are initially related to the pappus, their soft appendix, and do not seem to want to detach from it. Gradually they let themselves be carried away by the wind, at first fearful, gradually more and more fearless, ready to embark on a new journey, to experience new adventures. Having overcome fear, they let themselves go to the flow of life, ready to generate new ones.
That's exactly how I imagined my being a mother. A force capable of embracing and supporting, but never crushing.
It is therefore inevitable to rethink that light flower when I came up with the idea of making my own version of a shoe as loved by children as by adults: the model with the eyes.
Shoes with eyes: history of an iconic model
How is the sandal with eyes born?
In 1878 the Antica Calzoleria Eureka was born in Milan, thanks to Mario Forzinetti and his family. The craftsman had commissioned an illustrious pediatrician of the time to create a wooden form that had all the requisites and characteristics suitable for a child's foot. Thus began the production of a sandal with two small holes on the front.
Those sandals were so successful that from that moment on they were called the "two-eyed sandal". The idea was so new it almost seemed like an invention, so people started calling them Eureka!
In the 1970s that company now produced only men's shoes. It was bought by the Medori family from Montegranaro, who are still at the helm of this company today.
The ideal seam, used for these shoes, is one of the most complex processes in our world. It is a manual construction, but certainly the most "ideal" and functional for shoes dedicated to the little ones.
The collaboration with Eureka The Original
Soffio di Madre allowed me to collaborate with a historical reality of my territory: Eureka The Original. The company is based in Montegranaro and produces customizable shoes for boys and girls, all with ideal processing.
On their website it is possible to independently configure the shoe of your wishes, customizing it according to tastes and needs.
We have chosen to design a parallel collection together: for every “shoe with eyes” for women there is an identical one, for a boy or a girl.
The shoes with the eyes
The model is unique. I made the Occhietti sandal in different colors all in leather, plus in the same model I created a new shoe: the vegan version, made with materials without animal origin.
It is a shoe that is part of my long search for alternatives to materials of animal origin. No leather and leather: the upper of the vegan Occhietti is in cactus fiber, inside it has a bamboo fiber lining and the bottom is in natural para.
Proposing these shoes for me means putting myself on the line, finding new production concepts. It is not easy, it is a path that requires study and a lot of patience, especially for a craftsman who comes from a completely different tradition.
But another feature of the craftsman is never stopping and always experimenting with new solutions!
In these wonderful photos by Francesca Bianchelli you can also see some unique hats, made by another artisan whose creations I love: Popihat. Lara makes accessories for children by hand, according to the ancient art of embroidery and sewing. During the shooting all the children wore her creations, which perfectly matched the concept of Mother's Breath.
I would very much like to know what you think: about the project, about the shoes, about the stories I have told you so far. Write an email to alice@scarpettadivenere.it, I can't wait to read you!
