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Mar 11, 2021, 9:14 am 2.5K Shares
Colorado Shoe School co-founder Annabel Reader, right, helps Desiree Woody with the sole of her shoes at a shoe-making class at the School in Bellvue on Feb. 27, 2021. (Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post)
Well-worn leather jackets. An old bowling bag. A drop cloth splattered with multi-colored paint. A bike tire inner tube. The leather from a beat-up couch. Tennis balls that are past their prime.
All of these materials might normally end up in a landfill, but at the Colorado Shoe School just outside of Fort Collins, they’re being upcycled into colorful, whimsical, one-of-a-kind shoes you’ll literally never find anywhere else.
“One of the best ways we connect with people is through joy and comedy,” says Cole Huling. “We said to ourselves, ‘What if, instead of stories dealing with inner demons, which can be dark, sad stories, we gave people a moment of joy?’” With that in mind, they planned a run of shows for spring of 2020.
With everything shutting down just before their kickoff, the team had to quickly rework its idea. With the help of the advisory board a collection of mentors with various entertainment, tech and art industry backgrounds who provide guidance the Hulings looked at ways to take their show to the streets.