This week: Where would you go for a month to be an apprentice for a master shoemaker?
Heidi: ummmm....
Charlotte: Budapest!
In fact, I'm here this very moment, stuffed to the brim with bean goulash, sketching a handsome monk strap shoe, and repeating "köszönöm" aloud, each time with less confidence.
Expect reports in the next month on Budapest, cordwaining, and anything in between. But first, a small note on Koronya, Budapest's renowned bespoke shoe and boot atelier (where I am an apprentice).
Koronya is operated by master shoemaker Marcell Mrsán, a true artisan and pioneer in this renaissance of quality handcrafts.
While most shoemakers tend to be cagey about the secrets of their trade, Marcell has made it his mission to preserve the traditional techniques of cordwaining. He offers apprenticeships to aspiring shoemakers and demands nothing less than perfection from his pupils, just as was expected of him as a youngster at an Hungarian trade school.
So I'm here to tell you I survived my first day of the apprenticeship, wound-free. More reports to come...
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