Q Why do you do what you do?
A I've assigned myself the task of reviving the relatively obscure practice of hand-made shoemaking in New Zealand. I believe there are a lot of people out there who think with their hands the way I do. As a teacher I want to share with them the sense of profound satisfaction and creative intelligence involved in making a commonly mass-produced object from start to finish. My Australian and Japanese teachers have been a huge inspiration to me. Their generous spirits and knack of demonstrating simply and with great patience techniques I had struggled to understand in isolation gives me hope that I might be able to inspire my students in the same way.
Q What is your earliest memory?
A Falling into a snow drift and thinking the world was over. And gnawing on the rungs of wooden chairs. I can still taste the lacquer.
Q What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A Tina Turner. Mum was a jazzercise instructor. I was addicted to her workout music collection and my daydreams were devoted to designing my superstar stage show. Then I decided to get practical and become a hairdresser, but it took ages to thread the plastic bags with enough strands of wool to practise on so I gave up. And finally a miniaturist. I still want to be a miniaturist.
Q What is your most embarrassing moment?
A Only owning one pair of legwarmers during the jazzercise years.
Q Property aside, what's the most extravagant thing you've bought?
A Last year, I was invited to spend two months in the workshop of a master shoemaker in Japan. The offer from his assistant, who was travelling through Dunedin at the time, was simple: ``My boss said it's OK if you come and watch him work.'' I had to be very brave to say yes! I chose to leave my full-time job and live off my personal savings in Tokyo for two months. While the obstacles seemed large (living in Tokyo is expensive, I didn't speak any Japanese and I had no idea what I would find when I reached my destination) learning from a master shoemaker was too good of an opportunity to turn down. The experience was incredible and I consider myself so lucky.
Q Who would play you in the film of your life? And why?
A Winona Ryder, which needs no explanation.
Q What is your guiltiest pleasure?
A I love going to the movies. It's like being baby-sat by a massive screen.
Q *What would be your dream job?
A I'm doing it!
Q Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
A My friends. I've spent a considerable amount of time carefully considering the finer qualities of these people and I like to spend time with them whenever I can. Also I would invite Noel Fielding, who doesn't know it yet, but is my friend.
Q What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
A My quality of life is pretty good and there isn't much I can think of that I couldn't have if I really wanted it. However, it would make me happier to live in a fairer world, with people in charge who prioritise conserving our resources.
Q What keeps you awake at night?
A My cat has learned to open my door at night. She's got all sorts of stories to tell at 3am.
Q What song would you like played at your funeral?
A Hmmm. I'm not really that morbid. I'm also not a big party person - although at that stage I don't suppose social anxiety will be a huge problem. But if life is cyclic then perhaps I had better end where I began. Tina Turner. Steamy Windows.
*Shoe School holds regular shoe and sandal workshops (suitable for beginners; materials included).
For more information, visit: www.shoe-school.com
