‘I’ve just turned 50 years old, and coincidentally, began in my current occupation as a graphic artist and web developer on my 50th birthday! I completed secondary school back in 1980 and never continued through to tertiary education. Luckily, a university degree wasn’t really needed back in the fast-paced 1980s. I’m not married, nor do I have any children. Ingeborg, my lovely and patient partner of almost 20 years, quietly indulges my passion. Being German, she grew up in a culture where the spouses of doctors and professors adopt their partner’s title. Thus with my mock title of “Professor Shoelace”, Inge has adopted the mock title of “Frau Professor Schnuersenkel.”

Products from Pukimo Raivio

Kiton, grey sports jacket, size 50EU
Ralph Lauren, Black Label suit, size 52EU

Mr Fieggen with his favourite decorative style, Lattice Lacing

When I first invented my world’s fastest shoelace knot over 30 years ago, my parents and siblings were all keenly interested. I’m one of very few people in the world to have taught their own parents to tie their shoelaces! Through my siblings, who have shifted to other parts of the world, my “Ian Knot” has been taught first-hand to people all over the globe. My invention of the “Ian Knot” back in 1982 came about simply because of a broken shoelace. For more than a decade, this new knot was little more than a fun thing between myself, family, friends and the occasional shoe store assistant.

Over Under Lacing

In the 1990s, the Internet really started to gain momentum, so I added my shoelace knot to my hobby web site. This triggered a huge amount of feedback from web site visitors, much of which related more to shoe lacing methods than to shoelace knots. I therefore began adding lacing methods to the web site. These were a mixture of traditional methods, suggestions from visitors plus my own creations. My favourite lacing method for functionality is “Over Under Lacing”, whereas my favourite lacing method for appearance is “Lattice Lacing”. The latter method often receives comments from people on the street.

Lattice Lacing

I have a simple, straightforward dress sense, with no preference for particular brands or labels other than Levi’s jeans. So long as an item of clothing isn’t trying to shout that it’s the “latest fashion” and instead has the quiet dignity of classical style, I’m happy. Considering that my idea of style is to *not* be cutting-edge, it follows that I have no role models style-wise. Life-wise, I’m inspired by those who contribute to the community rather than those who take from it.

Army Lacing

I suspect that my admiration for selfless people, such as fellow Australians Dick Smith and Fred Hollows, has resulted in me living a rather more altruistic existence than I can really support with my current modest income. I believe that “style” is the indefinable property that makes something stand out and yet fit in perfectly. On the other hand, I believe that “fashion” is the property that makes something stand out and *not* fit in.

Spider Web Lacing

Alas, I haven’t indulged my passion for other forms of artwork, particularly sketching, since my web site work keeps me otherwise artistically occupied. Likewise my joy of recreational computer programming has its main outlet on my web site. My biggest real-world passion is swimming, which is fully indulged during the warmest six months of the year. I’m sure that we could read all sorts of character traits from people’s shoelaces, particularly because there’s so many variations of lacing methods, not to mention choices of shoelace material, shape, length, colours and patterns.

Zipper Lacing

But let’s stick with two major categories: Those who leave shoelaces the way they were when the shoes were bought, and those who either change the shoelaces or at least re-lace them with a different method or pattern. The latter would probably reveal a more adventurous person. In addition, if a person’s shoelace bows are sitting crooked, that is, lying *along* the shoe (from heel to toe) instead of *across* the shoe (from left to right), this often reveals that the shoelaces were inadvertently tied with a “Granny Knot”, which comes undone more easily. One can bet that such a man has been eternally frustrated by their shoelaces!’

The horrid Granny knot

http://fieggen.com/shoelace/index.html

Pictures: © Ian Fieggen