The Pauls Pawlowa- Auf Wiedersehen & Goodbye

I started this blog almost ten years ago. One of my first “exciting finds” in pointe shoe world was a brand called Pauls from Germany. The Pauls Pawlowa model had a fascinating story behind it.

Fast forward to this week. I decided to visit Pauls website on the sidebar here. Lo and behold, no Pawlowa. What happened? When you click on the spitzenschuhe category, the only choices are Bloch, Freed, Merlet, Grishko, Sansha, and Gaynor Minden.

IT HAS HAPPENED AGAIN. Another lovely pointe model trampled into the rosin box and replaced by the popular, mainstream brands. Sadly, the loving work of a cobblers hands perfecting his one precious model cannot compete with  the passage of time if the younger generation in the family doesn’t learn the trade. Even that is no guarantee of success.

The company began in 1919, so it is almost certain that the founder who molded those lovely shoes is no longer with us. Perhaps the family members who took over had no choice.  However, The Pauls Company still lives on today and you can check their Facebook page to see how their range has grown.

They were gracious enough to answer my inquiry about the Pawlowa. It’s true. They don’t make their own pointe brand anymore. It is with heavy heart that I have to remove Pauls from the sidebar. The good news is that they have some leftover stock of the Pawlowa models in their shop. Collectors, how do you say run, don’t walk in German?

Iovine Ignazio Pointe Shoes From Naples-Hand-Crafted Vintage Collectibles

There are so many beautiful brands of pointe shoes that come from Italy!  I cant think of a time when I saw an Italian model that wasn’t lovely in construction and quality.  Finding these Iovine Ignazio lovelies was such a joy. They have entered into the realm of the highly collectible as it appears their manufacturing days are long over.

 

The IOVINE IGNAZIO brand is one of those super-fascinating treasured mysteries that can make a pointe shoe lover spend hours and hours searching for any tidbit of information they can find. However, thanks to a responsive family member, I was able to wrap up my search in good time.

What I Was Able To Discover:

They were hand-crafted in Naples, Italy.  Napoli is what the Italians  call Naples. The old company url,  http://www.iovineignazio.com/index1.htm,  was last crawled by Google in 2007.

On the bottom of the bag you can see di Iovine Espedito. That led me to their current company, GlovesIovine. I am very fortunate that the nephew of Iovine Ignazio, Marco, responded to me on Facebook. Yes, it’s true. His uncle’s factory closed down.

What we have now are vintage, discontinued hand-crafted Italian pointe shoes that are a collectors dream.

Gloves Iovine on Facebook

Akces Pointe Shoes-Handmade In Kraków, Poland

MADE IN POLAND

Can anything be more exciting than finding a unique pointe shoe brand on the other side of the globe? For me, the answer is no.

Not only does a new brand gain a spot on the list here, it provides a real education on design and perspective from country to country.

The shoes are manufactured in Kraków and list the address of their main headquarters as 8a Gościnna street 30-698 Krakow. 

The company makes many different types of shoes, including the Classic Pointe, Model V, and Elastic Vamp.

 

CLASSIC

MODEL V

MODEL V

ELASTIC VAMP

What Makes Akces Pointe Shoes Interesting And Unique

One of the things that caught my eye about this brand is the model with the elastic vamp. Not many ( if any) ready-to-wear pointe shoes come with an elasticated insert in the vamp.

After reading the specifications of each model, it appears that all the shoes have one basic construction form, then are named based on the type of vamp they offer. The Classic has a u-shaped vamp, and the V has the obvious v-shaped vamp.

According to Google-translated specifications on each model, they come in five colors: White, Black, Pink, Nude, and Ecru. Other colors can be custom ordered. Shanks are available in 0-4 levels of hardness, and are constructed in narrow to very wide widths.

Akces Unisex Pointe Shoe

They are one of the rare companies that offer a male version, although it could be the V model, but in Black.

I found this model featured under the unisex category of pointe shoes on Tanecznysklep.pl.

 

Who would like to try and pronounce that website name?

The Company History Reads Like A Saga Of Heroism And Survival

Akces began in 1940 by a 12-year-old boy named Marian Proficz and his brother. From a humble family farmhouse, the company grew and expanded into many different brands that are well-known for their range of dance shoes and accessories. You can read this inspiring story in English on their About Us page.

Akces Has Many Different Websites And Divisions

Akces has multiple websites that are linked together and they also have a Facebook page. I give kudos to them for having an English version! Their main website is Akces.biz. From there, the company lists all their various brand names and corresponding websites.

The beauty of this company is that they still operate on the same property where it all began so many decades ago. It is now in the hands of the founders son.

To go straight to their pointe shoe sales page, visit Akcesdance.pl/pointy.

or visit Akces Dance on Facebook.

 

Pas De Deux Pointe Shoes- A Green Approach To Ballet Waste

Do you hate waste?  Apparently, this very new French brand, Pas De Deux, does  too. Inspired by the mountains of used pointe shoes that are tossed away by The Paris Opera Ballet, they decided to offer an alternative choice for dancers; pointe shoes constructed of organic recycled materials.

I stumbled upon this brand by accident on Facebook and find their Eco-friendly, green approach to pointe shoe making as contemporary and futuristic as using  high-tech materials.  The truth is, all of those tossed out pointe shoes from professional companies have to go somewhere.

This company is so new, they don’t have a website yet.  The company debuted in early April 2019 on Facebook.  At the moment, they are using a Google Form to take orders. Because of this, I will hold off adding them to the sidebar.

Finding Pas De Deux and their concept made me think about something I rarely consider; just how long does it take for a pointe shoe to decompose at the landfill? It makes you think, doesn’t it?

I really look forward to a fully designed website ( if they are planning one) with an About Page and detailed specifications on the shoe models. I want  to learn more about the man in the video, the model names, and the location in Paris where they are made.

How do you feel about the subject of waste when it comes to pointe shoes? Should we even try to make a dent in how the planet is affected by the vast amounts of used shoes dance theaters have to throw away?

Pas de Deux Pointes on Facebook

UPDATE  FRIDAY, MAY 23, 2019 – The video that was posted above went blank, so it was removed. Their Facebook page has also vanished. They may be blocking viewers, restyling their brand, or have already gone out of business.

Perros Louis Vintage Pointe Shoes From France

Am I a collector’s item? Oui! Oui!

Long ago and far away in the romantic city of Paris, there was a dance shop named Perros.

It was located in a busy section of the city that to this day is still a major  thoroughfare for pedestrians and vehicle traffic.

One day, the shop closed its doors and the precious inventory of dance shoes would become a part of ballet history instead.

French Ballet Shoe Memorabilia With A Bit Of Provenance

Its unusual to see a pointe shoe sole imprinted with an address.

If you have an eye for dance shoe collectibles, it’s always wonderful when you can get a full, interesting “provenance” with your purchase.

One very obvious place to start digging for some provenance is the address imprinted on the sole.

It was thrilling to discover that the storefront of 61 Rue Monge still exists today.

It is now an upscale beauty spa called Mani Kua.  Okay, I admit that I went through the picture gallery of the salon trying to imagine it filled with cobbler benches and tools and glue and satin fabric. Unfortunately, time  ( and an interior redo) has erased all traces of ballet-coated  D.N.A..

Surely I am not so far gone as to think there could have been an old, dusty  pointe ribbon hanging from the rafters in a back room? Maybe I  thought I would see the faint outline of a pink toe box peeking out from a cobweb under a lobby chair.

Coming Back To Reality And The Findings Of My Research:

1. There is nothing available online about the closing date of the business.
2.  The only page  on the web that mentions Perros,  shoe making and Paris altogether is located on this outdated business listing @ https://www.societe.com/societe/perros-louis-bottier-784247983.html
3. It is unknown whether Perros is his first name or last name. The Bottier name may be a title of occupation.   Translated from French to English, bottier means boot maker.

How lucky is the person that may own a pair of this rare brand! If I had a pair of these pointe shoes, would I sell them? As they say in French…… non, jamais!

 

 

Will So Danca’s New Elektra Model Be A Hit Or Miss?

So Danca Elektra

It must be difficult to invent new pointe shoe models. You have to come up with a design that is 100% performance-friendly and functional, yet offers some unique feature that makes them stand out from the hundreds already on the market. The brand new Elektra model by So Danca has taken the idea of sleek aesthetics to a very serious level. However, the design can make you wonder if a pointe shoe can be too sleek to work.

The Elektra:   Constructed With A Minimalist Approach

The Elektra is a pointe shoe design that is taking a gamble in the ballet world. The adjustment and shaping components that many pointe students are used to have been removed to give the shoe a smooth, unbroken line from the outside. There are :

1. No seams anywhere on the shoe.
2.  No drawstrings in casings with reinforced stitching around the top.

This Video Gives You A Great Idea Of The Minimalist Edges Of The Upper Shoe

To their credit, So Danca has constructed the Elektra with a unique elastic casing inside the shoe. This leaves the outer edges flat and bulk-free. According to the details mentioned on the Elektra debut page, the model also offers interchangeable shanks, heat molding capabilities, and ready-to-wear flexibility.

If you are familiar with the So Danca pointe shoe collection, this is a very different shoe idea compared to their traditional models.

What do you think about this Elektra minimalist pointe model? Take the vote and let me know.

 

L’Art Pirouette Pointe Shoe- Le Modèle Mystérieux

” The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible” – Oscar Wilde

How true is the above quote! Seeing how many pointe shoe models are on this  site as mystery brands makes the whole ballet shoe world even more interesting. As you spend time checking back on old mystery brands, poof, here comes another one fresh from the shoe galaxy out there.

Whether they are discontinued or still on the market, their appearance  offers the opportunity to at least give them a little attention and appreciation. These pretty shoes were tools of the trade for some lovely dancer somewhere. It would be wonderful  to know their source.

The Pirouette Model By L’Art

 

 

It is no exaggeration to say I searched and searched and searched for some information about this brand, but had no success.

How could a pointe shoe model with the lovely name of L’Art Pirouette be so unheard of and mystérieux? The name L’Art, as well as Pirouette are decidedly French, but the only reference to these shoes online come from Mexico, Argentina and Catalonia, Spain.

One pair looks new and the other well-worn. Are they still in production somewhere? Where? By Whom? And the most important question of all:

Could  they make a collector’s heart flutter? Yes!

Art Line Pointe Shoes From Indonesia

What comes in cute descriptive colors like baby purple  or red racy ones like merah ? Pointe shoes from the Bandung area of Indonesia called  Art Line. They are intriguing and colorful to look at, but at the same time, almost impossible to learn about.

Why?  The featuring website needs a little bit of tender loving care. Unfortunately, there are missing images, broken links, and out of focus models that make it difficult to see the crisp details of this brand.

Product specifications are missing, so there is no clue about fit, function, or sizes. The concept of  manufacturing a stock pointe shoe that comes in eleven colors is a wonderful idea.  Competing with big brands that offer custom shades like Grishko is not so wonderful.

Featured On Dballetshop.com, They Are Sold With More Well Known Models From Grishko And Bloch

The colorful satin points with matching toe tips are pretty to look at, but what really interests me is the unique liner logo. It’s a bit fuzzy here, but the liner logo shows a ballet dancer on pointe with the word Artline above her head.

If you visit the product page of their green model and hover over the image, it shows up better than the photos here.

on vacation

The Art Line brand is indeed baffling. The models ( or model) have no specifications; not even a price. The Facebook link is broken as well. Their Twitter link stills works, but it appears that it’s been quite a while since the last Tweet.  I think I will hold off adding this brand to the sidebar.

It’s hard to predict what will happen to a brand when their website is left to gather dust bunnies.  I will be the optimist here : if the domain name is still on the Internet, there is hope. What do you think?

 

Flickr.com, CreativeTools.se – Twitter bird standing on branch – Close-up, Cropped to fit, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The P-rouette Concept Pointe Shoe

Could this idea really work?

By Internet or by Smartphone, scanning and printing is what a lot of us do at work or for our hobbies.

Today, home sewers can easily print out patterns online. What would you think if a designer wanted to use this same idea for making your pointe shoes?

However much some of us want to hold on to the traditional methods of shoe construction, there are people out there trying to bring pointe shoe design into a whole new dimension. The 3rd dimension.

The way out, far out, eyebrow-raising dimension where cobblers and workroom benches are replaced by  a mobile app that scans your foot, then sends the computerized specifications to an in-house fabric-printing machine.

From there, your shoes are sewn and pieced according to what you scanned in. I wonder what would happen if your cat’s paw was scanned by accident? Will they accept returns? What the dancer is supposed to get on the other end is a perfectly molded pointe shoe and sole-hugging design with pain-killing materials built-in.

The true purpose behind all of these high-tech pointe shoe ideas is to invent  a product for a higher level of ballet athleticism.  A sneaker on pointe, if you will. A pink satin track shoe for leaping tall buildings in a single bound.

A rubberized, vulcanized shoe that can go from the Bolshoi stage to the basketball court with a series of bouncy pas de chats.

What do you think about all this? Can digitized, computerized manufacturing compete with the likes of hand-turned Freeds, or Capezio’s legendary cobblers of old?

Read all about the P-rouette pointe shoe concept, then vote below.

 

 

Edoardo Colacrai Pointe Shoes-Vintage Memorabilia

One of the most interesting types of pointe shoe brands are those created by principal dancers;  be they male or female. Sometimes we never learn about these dancers until we discover their brand on the market.

Such is the case with these fascinating Edoardo Colacrai pointes, or puntas. Edoardo Colacrai was a principal dancer for the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy; one of the finest and oldest opera houses  in the world.

He had a long career as a ballerino ( as they say in Italy). It appears that Mr. Colacrai was at the height of his dance career from the 1970’s through the 1990’s. Porcelli, a top-quality Italian Manufacturer, has a lovely pointe shoe model named Colacrai.

The last mention of his name in connection with ballet dates back to the early 1990’s. His name was archived on World Catalog.org as the 1990 author of an article about the Teatro alla Scala.

Of course, as luck would have it, the most fascinating pointe shoe finds have the least information.

On an Italian ballet forum thread from 2008, dancers discuss the fit and performance of his brand of soft slippers. I couldn’t find any specific information about the production dates of his pointe shoes. I spent hours searching for the soft slippers as well.

At least we can get some satisfaction Google-translating what the words on the packaging might mean in English.

On the shoe bag, the large white sticker reads Cucite A Mano, or made by hand.

Approximately mid-center you can see a website address and contact email. The domain name puntashoes.com is an interesting mix of Italian and English, but returns a not-found error message online. I think it would be vain hope to try the email address at this time.

The Tag Appears To Be Break-In Instructions, Not Specifications

Exercise on pointe

Relevés in I, II, V position. Music tempo 4/4

They are performed with two hands at the bar and after eight lessons, in the center.

On the first quarter demi-plié. On the second quarter climb on the tips passing from the half-tip, on the third quarter to go down in demi-plié always passing by half-tip , on the fourth quarter stretch out your knees. Perform eight relevés in each position.

Edoardo Colacrai passed away in 2012. His Facebook page is still published, but  is very sparse.  A friend and former dance partner created a humble, but loving memorial video of him on You-tube.

It’s fascinating when male dancers create their own brand of pointe shoes during their dance career; like Mikhail Baryshnikov did. The Punta brand by Edoardo Colacrai is a beautiful collectors item.  It now lives as precious ballet shoe memorabilia that honors his memory.

Rest in peace, Mr. Colacrai.