I often get asked a lot on which is my favorite pair of shoes in my closet and why it is my favorite pair.
My favorite pair of shoes would be the gold mules I made in 2019 - 2021. I started making this pair of mules in the summer of 2019 at The Brooklyn Shoe Space. I remembered completing the patterns, and putting everything in a ziplock bag, thinking that I would be back at the studio to continue making the shoes. But I did not go back for months,, and before I knew it, it was March 2020 when the COVID pandemic hit New York City.
I did not really think too much about this pair of unfinished mules, but I woke up one day to this nagging thought about checking out Brooklyn Shoe Space Facebook page, and much to my surprise the owner was moving out on that same day! Panic immediately set in as I was worried that my barely started shoe patterns and materials were going to be lost in the big move, and I desperately tried to contact Keiko (the founder) a few times to see if they could find my shoe patterns and supplies. Miraculously she remembered where she stored my stuff, but there was nothing we could do at that point because the city was in a lock down.
Then, on September 16 2020 I received news that my father passed away in Singapore, and my life changed forever from that moment. I am not one to live my life with regrets, but I truly regret two things that I wished I did when my father was still around.
I wished that I was by my father's side when he passed away, but I was not.
I wished that I started working on launching my shoe business earlier so my father would get to see me launch my shoe business, but he passed away before I started doing anything.
So when 2021 came around and Brooklyn Shoe Space reopened in a new location, I went back immediately to resume making my mules. I named this pair of mules LPH after my father's initials as my way to remember him, and it serves to remind me that life is too short to be wasted; you never really know when is going to be your last day on earth.
Today is February 29th, and it is my father's birthday. I am sharing this story to celebrate this very special day to remember and celebrate his life as my wonderful father.
He’s a man of few words, but his love speaks volumes.
Happy birthday, Daddy. You may not physically be here with us anymore, but we love you wherever you are.
Thank you for reading my post. If you like what you are reading, do check out other posts on my shoemaking journey.