About the Author
Tyler Johnson is a writer, musician and engineer living in Carrboro,
North Carolina. He was raised near Scotchtown in Virginia, in a log
cabin built by his father.
Why A Common Last ?
In times past shoes were made by hand by cordwainers (historically cobblers only repaired shoes). A last is a wooden or metal form roughly in the shape of a foot around which the shoe is made. Until more modern times both left and right shoes were made from the same last - a common last. Hunting, working, dancing and other activities would cause the shoes to conform to the shape of your individual feet. This made breaking in a much more earnest endeavor than the brief stiffness to which we are accustomed today.
In some ways we are all formed on a common last. The dances we take shape us, making us supple and scarring us from long adventure. How would you measure the value of a good pair of shoes? One could scarcely find nobler industry than in their making. Dance in them. Make them your own.
