SOLD: Black deer hide Moccasins Sz 6-7

This beautiful pair of moccasins is made with a lovely black suede deer hide. Much softer and more flexible than cowhide. This pair has the sheepskin lining, like all my footwear as well as a double leather sole, suitable for indoor use or dry outdoor use (no rain or snow). The rabbit fur trim is made of an extremely plush top quality skin with natural grey coloring. Priced at $125 this is a great deal on a quality product that will last for years to come. Please email me if you are interested. Will ship worldwide.

Carmen Avenue to Northern Light

Not sure how many people follow my blog on a regular basis, but for those who do I'm sure you will have noticed that I changed the name. Originally this blog was intended to chronicle the different sorts of artistic and creative endeavours that I pursue. At first it started mostly as paintings (which I still love doing) and gradually transitioned to mukluks and moccasins. As I have gotten back into this pursuit I have really fallen in love with the craft and intend to focus most of my extra energy on learning more about mukluks, making more mukluks and hopefully travelling north and learning more about the people who hunt and trap the animals that I use. I felt that the name "Carmen Avenue" did not reflect what I was doing anymore and think that "Northern Light" is much more appropriate. As I shift my perspective and focus I will continue to update and rework my blog to reflect this change. I am not always the best wordsmith and it is hard to describe how important what I do is to me, but I will continue to try my best and hopefully put out posts worth looking at!

Thank you for following me thus far, hope to retain your interest in the future!

Deerhide and Red Fox Moccasins

These were completed a few days ago and so hard to part with! The woman who ordered them loved them though! She had given me a pretty vague idea about what she had wanted to beading, just that she liked darker colors. When she saw the poppy she asked if I had read her mind! I think I am always nervous when people pick up their orders but they are always happy and it feels great! After 2012 I don't think I will be making any basic moccasins with rabbit fur, but will continue with fox and other wild furs.

99% Natural Summer Moccasins

Over the past few weeks I have been working on a project for this lovely couple that came across my ad on kijiji, but it also so happens that I knew the woman from a daycare one of my daughters used to attend (Love how small the world can be sometimes!) They wanted all natural lace up mukluks (or scouts) and summer moccasins. I was and still am really excited to be working on this project, as I have only completed the moccasins thus far.

I really like the idea of a natural and traditional footwear but it is very expensive to use all natural materials and mukluks have become so generic in the past few years people expect mukluks to look and feel accordingly. I use a sheepskin lining regardless if it is requested, where as most of my competitors use a synthetic fleece or faux fur type lining. I do use the rubber soles on most of my orders as it seems to be what everyone wants, and it is durable I will give it that, and I do use a contact cement as well as hand stitching to apply it. However if it were up to me I would be making all my products with a home tanned thick bison or moose hide, and doubling up the leather on the bottom. However as cost dictates, this is not what people can afford, but I think I will start pushing it as an option. As for the thread I have been using a bonded nylon but will be looking more into using natural sinew if I can get my hands on it, and depending how expensive it is.

As for this order, the moccasins are made out of cowhide leather, with an extra thick leather sole (no glue) and 100% cotton canvas lining in the foot. The beading on the woman's pair is done with glass beads and natural turquoise stones. The only unnatural product used in creating these moccasins is the bonded nylon thread.

This project really reminded me why I fell in love with mukluks and moccasins in the first place, and pushed me to get back in touch with my beliefs. In the future I will try to start working more and more with all natural products, and hopefully set myself apart from the rest of the mukluk world. I am full for orders this year, but come January I think I will make time to work on a few pairs for myself and kids so people can see what an all natural product looks like!