[My knowledge comes from] talking to as many people as possible, everyone has different ideas. Like everywhere in life, things are not simple and black and white. Just avoid the front-of house people. As they try to sell you a product not yet made, they have to sing their own praises and put the competition down. I also have a number of historical books.\u00a0KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid). There was a time I would have run to every trendy restaurant and became exited by weird and wonderful, \u2018modern\u2019 hybrid dishes. Now you can please me with plain, traditional bourgeois food, just well prepared. Same thing applies to shoes or clothing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
I have my own last, I can make my \u2018standards\u2019 and design my patterns. Although I still have hesitations to cut into a hide, hence I get my closer to do the clicking. I work with individual artisans, who are also outworkers for the leading West-End shoe firms. This has also the advantage, if I am unhappy with something on the way, I can either change it or kill it. I still have an extreme fondness of Edward Green (although I haven’t bought any in the last few years). There is such a degree of being ‘right’ about EG shoes, which I find extremely satisfying.<\/p>\n
[My journey to Styleforum was] hardly a \u2018journey\u2019 as in a \u2018Bildungsroman\u2019, \u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/ Less is more! (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe).\u00a0I believe that recently Robert Venturi has withdrawn his “Less is a bore” challenge to Mies.\u00a0You only need three pairs of shoes to deal with almost any situation: a black \u2018Oxford\u2019 (plain cap, no brogueing), a brown \u2018full brogue\u2019, with wing tip and brogueing to virtually every edge. Third one is a penny loafer (maybe in suede). Then, if you want to, you can go on to more fashionable styles (like a double monk). But you start with the basics.”<\/p>\n Picture: Rolf Holzapfel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"Interview_with_Rolf_Holzapfel_AKA_bengal-stripe_at_Keikari_dot_com\"](\"http:\/\/www.keikari.com\/english\/wp-content\/pictures\/2013\/03\/Interview_with_Rolf_Holzapfel_AKA_bengal-stripe_at_Keikari_dot_com.jpg\")
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