An over-the-shoulder shot of a student painting on their pink and blue sneakers.

About

Colorado Shoe School, established in 2018, is a place where you can make your own shoes, with your own hands, from your own imagination. Cool ones… that you will want to wear!  We are a small cozy school nestled in Bellvue, Colorado that offers a range of shoemaking workshops from 1 day sneaker and sandals to 5 day custom boots designed by you. Anyone is welcome and they are designed for all skill levels. Check out workshops on offer here.

Whether you are an artist or just want a fun creative experience, we will take care of you.  We provide step by step instruction, sewing machines, the tools and all the materials to make your shoe creation experience a rewarding one. People can use their hands and imaginations with our help to create their own one-of-a-kind pair of shoes. It is a way for people to treat themselves, spend creative time with family and friends and escape the hustle bustle of everyday life. We are dedicated to individual expression, playful art and practicing sustainability. 

A flat-lay shot of the pieces of a sneaker made with navy blueprint canvas and patches.

Materials We Use

  • We mainly use leather destined for the waste stream. We believe in upcycling and recycling!  

  • Repurposing from the fashion industry: old leather jackets, chaps, upholstery leather. You name it we can repurpose it!

  • Most shoes are made from leather, though other than the 1 day sneaker and 3 day wet lasted workshops, you can make shoes out of almost anything. We have had a student who used an old billboard for their shoes and another make shoes out of plastic bags! We support experiments.

  • Our sneaker sole cups are made from recycled tennis balls and balloons. 

  • You are also welcome to bring in your own special leather or even that horrendous 80’s jacket you love to hate and turn it into a pair of shoes. 

“You are making shoes that fit your personality!”

— Annabel & Dan

Owners & operators of the Colorado Shoe School, Annabel and Dan, are smiling at the camera and have unique pairs of shoes on their hands. Annabel is wearing a colorful floral patterned shirt, they are both wearing hats.

About Annabel & Dan

Owners and operators’ Annabel Reader and Dan Huling are simply in love with creating shoes. The Colorado Shoe School was a natural evolutionary step from Dan and Annabel’s past 20 years of creative and artistic work. Annabel earned a bachelor’s degree in Contemporary Dance and Choreography from Unitec, Auckland, New Zealand and Dan focused on Sculpture and Printmaking as he earned a BFA from Colorado State University. 

Over the years, they went on to work in a variety of art fields as costume creators, performers, dancers and contraption builders for their own companies like The Handsome Little Devils and EyeSoar Performance and for large entities including New Belgium Brewing Co., Colorado Opera, Colorado State University, Theatre Aspen, and Cirque Du Soleil. 

Annabel’s costume work led her to begin exploring the art of shoe making and in late 2017 they had a fate changing opportunity to attend a Shoe School in New Zealand. After traveling the world as performers they were playing with a change in career and attending this workshop was the catalyst to starting the Colorado Shoe School. 

An exterior image of the Colorado Shoe School wooden treehouse workspace.

They love sharing skills, teaching others, creating things that don’t currently exist and absolutely love shoes so it was a short distance to building a custom shoe making studio in order to teach others how to make their own shoes. In 2018 Colorado Shoe School opened its doors! They focus both on the functionality and the methods behind shoe making, but the main drive is letting whimsy and fun lead to a new creation.  Both of their career paths have required them to come up with creative interpretations of characters, inventive ways to design things and build alternative dream worlds. Simply creating and making things that have never been seen in this world before.

The school and its workshops are held in a custom built studio in the idyllic town of Bellvue, just north of Horsetooth Reservoir and 15 minutes from Old Town Fort Collins, Colorado.

A short tour….

  • An image of a large white work table being constructed in the center of the Colorado Shoe School workspace.

    Building our work table.

  • An interior shot of the studio space in use, with materials strewn about the workspace, shelves full of items and inspiration sketches line the walls.

    The Studio is basically a tree house.

  • An image of Dan working on a shoe in the early days of being in the workspace.

    Early days of working in the studio.

  • A sun-drenched image of several people sitting around a table on a covered wooden deck outside of the treehouse workspace. They are eating lunch and chatting about their creations.

    Our deck for lunch hang outs.

  • A cozy corner nook with a window, cushioned chairs, a woven rug and a small red side-table. A floating shelf with books is higher on the wall.

    The inspiration nook.

  • A closeup shot of two black sewing machines that are available to students at the Colorado Shoe School.

    Sailrite walking foot machines,Servo motors mean they go super slow (or fast).

  • An exterior image of the custom built Colorado Shoe School wooden treehouse workspace.

    The custom built studio.

Come see it in person!