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As far as personal aesthetics are concerned, I am a bit of a utilitarian. If something functions well as intended, any aesthetic design choices are secondary and free to follow the designer’s whims. When design choices sacrifice function in favor of chasing a particular aesthetic, it seems to me a poor, perhaps even negligent choice. This thought process is certainly a product of how I was introduced to visual arts growing up. I used to hold the concept of anything pursuing a particular visual aesthetic as a foolish and useless waste of material. I have long since been able to change this perspective, but 4 years of mechanical engineering training have not weakened my utilitarian perspective.

These thoughts on personal aesthetics are not completely independent of my plan for my main project as I first thought they were. I have a noticeable lack of slippers in my life, and occasionally enjoy leatherworking as a project with which to avoid schoolwork, and therefore have decided manufacturing my own pair of leather moccasins would be a reasonable solution to both fill this niche and work towards an aesthetic for this course. In a wood and steel chest in the basement of my house I found a few old frontiersman-style pattern books for making clothing, including the shoes of the time (this being the late 1700’s to mid 1800’s). Below are a few samples I plan to concatenate into my own functional design.

I have some leather scrap from a previous project that could be used for the soles, and am still considering how advanced to make these. A simple sewn leather would be perfectly fine for around the house, or mild outdoor activity in fairer weather, but a sealant and taller style could almost be a functional boot, especially if I were to include a more serious outsole.

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References: Whatever strange book I happened to find and take pictures of a year ago. A small production run, copied from handwritten notes apparently.