On 9/11/06, Classe, Francis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hey Cin,
Always! So, here is the deal - as we know, in period, they would have
used either wood (one source mentions lombardy poplar) or cork. For
cork, the actual bark of the tree was used, held together with wooden
pins and possibly some kind of glue (still doing more research on this
part, but I've seen extant pieces where the wooden pins are visible).
Since cork trees aren't readily available, there are actually a couple
of sources out there that I know of which sell composite cork blocks
which can be carved into an appropriate form.
1) Cork Yoga blocks, available at many different sites. Just search
google, but one example is here
http://www.yoga.com/store/product.asp?Product_ID=2719 or
http://www.unitywoods.com/boutique.html. The downside of these blocks
is that most of them are made of cork dust combined with a binder of
some sort. This makes them softer to the feel and lighter, but less
stable, so I only recommend them for shorter styles. Also, because of
the size, they're only really appropriate for small feet (they're only
about 9" or 10" long). I have heard of a source that sells larger (3'
by 2', I believe) cork blocks of similar material for around $50, but
I'd have to dig a bit more for that and get you the source later.
Incidentally, we made a set of florentine style pantoufle forms over the
weekend out of these cork blocks. If you cut them right, you can
actually get two per block. I took some pictures if you're interested.
2) Cork Decoys. Several places sell material for carving out your own
cork decoys, but you can just as easily carve your own chopines or
pantoufles out of them. Check out
http://www.theduckblind.com/corksales.htm or http://www.corkstore.com
(under arts, crafts, and hobbies). You want the tan cork, not the black
cork, since the black cork falls apart as you carve into it. They also
have large blocks that are also available from source 3 below.
3) Maryland Cork Company. They only sell large blocks (2' by 3' and
many different thicknesses), but you'll have to call to get more
information. This is where I got the cork for your chopines.
http://www.marylandcork.com/
Hope this helps!
Francis C. Classe
FMO QRE - Sunnyvale
Work: (408) 616-7848
Cell: (408) 250-5563
-----Original Message-----
From: Cin [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Saturday, September 09, 2006 9:40 PM
To: Classe, Francis
Subject: Re: [h-cost] On Chopines
The question is addressed to you, sir. Willing to give away your
secrets?
--cin
Cynthia Barnes
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Thu, 07 Sep 2006 21:55:33 -0400
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [h-cost] On Chopines
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Very spif! Where did you find your cork?
:)
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 8:08 PM
Subject: [h-cost] On Chopines
I was fitted for my new chopines last nite. You can see a picture of
the cork structure with the undyed footbed, and my fabric here:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/hysteria95126/my_photos
The album is "Works in Progress". The chopines are part of the 2nd
set. Woo-hoo I will soon ascend to the heights of fashion!
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