Projects
Why We Do What We Do
The Last Maker
with Graham Muttram
I make wooden lasts. A last shape resembles the human foot and forms the shape of a shoe, which is then used by shoemakers to make the shoes.
I have been making lasts for ten years now. I learned everything I know from people I worked alongside. It’s the kind of skill you need to practise doing by hand. You can’t read a book on how to do it!
Every day I get new requests, most will involve making a new last based off an existing design. I’ll choose a good last to start from and then adapt the toe shape to match the drawings from the designer. Other requests may involve more technical things like changing an existing last or modifying it.
The thing I find most interesting about this job is the hand modelling of the wooden blocks. I love it when I can get my head down and get fully immersed in a project. I’m using my hands and tools like rasps and sanding wheels to make something from a block of wood. It’s a real art, and when you finish one and you know the designer likes it you get a real buzz!
When I started last making we made a lot of lasts. Things have changed, we seem to focus more now on detail, working on old shoes to make them better or just reworking things. We use a software programme developed for last makers that helps loads. It can replicate most changes needed to be carried out on a last by hand. It is a great timesaver, but it still can’t make a last from scratch. You still need a human eye!
I think last making is a dying trade. Not many companies have in-house last making. I’m very lucky to have had the opportunity to do this job. I saw the job advertised and it caught my interest as I am a very hands-on person, and I love making things. I went for it and ten years later I am the Senior Last Maker in my department.
I had a lot of training in using bandsaws, sanding wheels, cutting equipment and rasps. Last making is something you just have to have a go at. I spent a lot of time watching people do the job and it’s amazing how much you can learn from watching someone.
My biggest challenge was confidence. When you start a skilled job like this and watch people who have been doing it for 40 years, you have big boots to fill. You need to gain the trust of designers as they have a design to follow and they need your last to make that design come to life.
“I THINK LAST MAKERS WILL ALWAYS BE NEEDED AS LONG AS WE WEAR SHOES. I AM ALWAYS MOTIVATED TO DO BETTER AND TO BE THE BEST! EVERY TIME I PICK UP A LAST I FIND SOMETHING THAT I COULD MAKE BETTER”.
