slem summer programsjuly - august 2015

Hello and welcome to SLEM! SLEM is an international education and innovation center for footwear based in the Netherlands and China. Our aim is to transfer, maintain and improve footwear knowledge and the overall industry by bringing new technologies, creative thinking and cutting-edge methods into practice. We do this in our full time Master of Footwear Innovation program, but also in our short summer courses: an ideal opportunity for both professionals and students of various levels to get away from the daily grind and refresh their minds and skills!

On the next pages you will find more details about each workshop, but there are a few general rules that apply to all of them:

All SLEM programs have a limited number of places with an average class size of 10 people; we do this intentionally to ensure high standards and efficient learning.

Our programs are all taught in English and require an IELTS level between 7-9 or a CEF C1 or C2. Also, all applicants must be 18 or older at the time of application.

All applications are handled in order of arrival, qualified candidates are accepted until the program is full, after which applications for the program are closed.

To apply please send us your CV and/or motivation for attending the selected program(s) at office@slem.nl

All course fees need to be paid in advance; your spot in a program is not guaranteed until we receive full payment.

Since all courses are held in The Netherlands, Dutch tax rules apply and this means we have to charge 21% VAT, also to foreign participants. However, this is tax deductible in your home country.

SLEM offers limited student housing at the SLEM campus. Please see the last page of the brochure for more information about housing options.

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athletic footwear innovation 3by Mike Friton

3d design & printing for wearable shoes 7by Troy Nachtigall, Ignacio Garcia & René Medel

developing your own leather finish 11by Anke Louwers & Diane Becker

starting your own online sneaker brand 15by Roderick Pieters & Nicoline van Enter

athletic footwear innovationwith Mike Friton3

athletic footwear innovationby mike friton

Mike Friton is one of Nike’s most legendary designers, responsible for iconic styles such as the Presto and the Nike Woven. He also worked on the new self-lacing Back to the Future shoes. He recently started his own company, specializing in innovative footwear prototyping.

In this unique workshop you will develop a new athletic footwear concept, including a wearable prototype, applying dynamic materials that have functions and possibilities beyond what is trending today. You will also learn quick ways for 2D to 3D prototyping that Mike developed himself.

The first two days of the workshop take place at Shoes or No Shoes in Kruishoutem, Belgium. This extraordinary museum has the largest collection of historic ethnic footwear in the world. It offers a wealth of inspiration for constructions and dynamic materials that move with the foot.

Mike will begin with a discussion of the dynamic relationship between foot, last and shoe. This will include health issues that are often overlooked in athletic shoe design. After learning how to manipulate 2D materials into 3D form, using smart techniques like origami, you will start making your prototype from simple booties that can be modified to quickly create and test new concepts. You will finish the workshop with one or more wearable items.

how to apply:This workshop is meant for footwear professionals and students, yet it is high level so we do require basic knowledge of footwear. To apply please send your CV to office@slem.nl. Maximum class size is 10, so please apply in time!

dates:Monday, July 13 - Saturday July 18, 2015

hours:10:00 - 18:00 with one hour lunch break (bring your own lunch).On Monday the 13th we leave at 8:00 am from Den Bosch CS

location:- Shoes or No Shoes Museum, Kruishoutem, Belgium- SLEM studio in Waalwijk and/or EindhovenTravel to Shoes or No Shoes is by group car/van; the meeting point is on Monday 13th at 8:00 at the Den Bosch CS station. The return is planned for the evening of the 14th.

accommodation:Participants should arrange their own hotel in Gent, near Kruishoutem, for the night of the 13th and also for the other days in Waalwijk. We have limited availability in our student housing, please inquire during application.

costs:Workshop costs are €999, excluding 21% VAT. (€1208,79 including VAT). Transportation to Belgium, basic leathers and textiles are included; any special materials you require are not.

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a functional design starts with understanding a shoe last quick ways for prototyping

creating dynamic shapes from 2d to 3d

creating final sample from folded prototype

shoes or no shoes museum in kruishoutem, belgium

their breathtaking global ethnic shoe collection5

the development of nike woven

about mike fritonMike Friton has been an innovator in the footwear industry for over 30 years. His career began at Bowerman Lab, an athletic footwear “think tank” created by Bill Bowerman, Co-Founder of Nike. In 1998 Friton moved to Nike’s headquarters in Portland where he worked in several departments - Advanced Technology Engineering, All Conditions Gear (ACG) and Advanced Product Engineering - before joining the company’s esteemed Innovative Kitchen as a Senior Innovator. Notably, Friton has patented 14 prototypes for Nike. These include Goatek - a running shoe designed after a Mountain goat hoof - which earned Runners’ World Shoe of the Year title, and the Trunner - a running and basketball shoe hybrid with an adjustable heel clip - which won an award from a leading science magazine. In 2011, Friton left Nike to launch his own footwear prototype enterprise, giving him the flexibility to contract with leading and niche-market footwear companies, and to develop prototypes of his own.

For more info on Mike Friton: fritondesign.com/bio

mike friton

iconic design: nike presto

mike friton and bill bowerman6

3D design & 3D printing for wearable footwearwith Rene Medel, Troy Nachtigall and Ignacio Garcia

3d design & 3d printingrené medel, troy nachtigall & ignacio garcia

This is a two-week course meant for everyone who wants to be able to design and print shoes in 3D, whether these are prototypes or fully functional, wearable shoes. SLEM is the first and only institute in the world to offer this knowledge, having an exclusive agreement with Ignacio Garcia, the founder of Recreus, who developed a stretch filament called Filaflex. With this you can print shoes that are ready to wear! They are comfortable, flexible and look amazing. They can be printed in only a few hours on a Lewihe 3D printer that is meant especially for flexible filaments. During this course you will learn how to use Filaflex and the Lewihe printer so you can print your own shoes, prototypes or even small runs of shoes if you want to establish your own 3D printed footwear brand!

Before you can print you will need to make a 3D design. For this we teach two varieties: Rhino or Delcam CRISPIN ShoeMaker Pro. Before applying, you have to choose which format you want to learn. If you are a professional who wants to print full size ranges, we suggest you opt for ShoeMaker Pro. If you are a student on a small budget, we suggest you choose Rhino.

In the first week of the course you will learn to use the software of your choice - and will get to experiment with a host of other free design apps - and will make a first complete 3D design to print. In the second week you will learn how to prepare your design for the 3D printer and will make one or more prints with Filaflex.

how to apply:This course is meant for footwear professionals and students, yet it is high level so we do require basic knowledge of footwear. To apply please send your CV to office@slem.nl.

dates:week 1, 3D design: Monday, July 20 - Friday, July 24, 2015week 2, 3D printing: Monday, July 27 - Friday, July 31, 2015

hours:10:00 - 18:00 with one hour lunch break (bring your own lunch).

location:SLEM studio in Waalwijk

accommodation:You should arrange your own accommodation in (the vicinity of) Waalwijk. We have limited availability in our student housing, please inquire during application.

costs:week 1 Rhino option: €599 excl. 21% VAT (€724,79)week 1 ShoeMaker Pro option: €1500 excl. 21% VAT (€1815)week 2: €599 excl. 21% VAT (€724,79) You can choose to only follow week 1 (3D design), but not to only follow week 2 (3D printing). You need to bring a laptop (PC or Mac) with Rhino installed, including the RhinoShoe 2.0 plugin. For ShoeMaker we will give you a dongel to use with a fully licensed version, but this is only valid during the course! ShoeMaker requires a working Windows installation! You have to buy your own Filaflex for printing at SLEM: one spool of €20 is enough for a pair of shoes.

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you will use shoemaker pro in whole new ways filaflex is firm yet flexible and stretchy so it is ideal for shoes

you will create fully wearable shoes with filaflex

the lewihe printer is optimized for printing flexible filaments

you will learn various kinds of software to make stl files

with filaflex you can create unique knit-like textures9

troy nachtigall

Troy Nachtigall will lead the workshop. He is SLEM’s own tech wizard. Apart from teaching 3d printing and wearable technology at SLEM, he is a senior level designer, a lecturer at Technical University of Eindhoven and he is currently finishing FAB Academy at M.I.T.

He grew up in the United States, studied fashion and wearable computing at Fashion Institute of Technology, but did most of his study abroad in Italy, where he lived and worked for many years. Troy has very broad experience, from working at Apple to being head design at Emilio Cavallini. He is now fine-tuning Delcam/CRISPIN’s shoe design software for 3D printing. SLEM is the first institute in the world to teach this famous software package in a whole new way!

rené medel

René Medel is currently a student at SLEM’s Master of Footwear Innovation, as he is looking to start his own 3D printed footwear line. He is also an absolute expert in Rhino for footwear, which he has taught in his home country of Chile for many years, so he will be teaching Rhino for this workshop.

René is also the CEO of Eximed S.A. and has been involved with software and hardware for 3D modeling (CAD CAM), digitizing, CNC and 3D printing for jewelry, architecture, furniture, product design, packaging and footwear. In the last 10 years he has developed workshops on design and fabrication subjects in different companies and universities from Chile, Argentina, Perú, Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico.

ignacio garcia

Ignacio Garcia is the owner and founder of Recreus, the company behind Filaflex, which he also invented. With his unlimited creativity and open-minded approach he is continually exploring new ways to improve 3D printing materials and technology. Nothing is impossible!

Ignacio will come in for a few days to help participants that have advanced questions about the 3D printing materials and about how to adjust various 3D printers for printing with flexible filament.

Perhaps he will also present some exciting new developments with his filaments....

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developing your own leather finishwith Anke Louwers & Diane Becker11

developing your own leather finishanke louwers & diane becker

Are you a shoe designer that is looking for a particular kind of leather that you can not find or do you simply want a better understanding of how leather is made? Then this is the perfect workshop for you!

Ecco Leather tannery - one of the most advanced tanneries in the world - is located only 20 minutes away from SLEM. Not only do they produce leather for Ecco Footwear, but also for designer brands such as Louis Vuitton, Alexander Wang and Iris van Herpen. Even the wrist bands for the Apple Watch are made here!

Participants of this workshop get to work at the Ecco Leather tannery test lab for three full days, each with their own technician, to develop one or more leather finishes. Better yet: every participant will receive two or three full skins with that finish by the end of the workshop!

We start the first day at SLEM in Waalwijk, learning the basics of leather trend forecasting and making one or more tactile and visual mood boards for the leather finishes you would like to develop. The next three days you work at the Ecco Leather tannery to actually develop what you envisioned, using all available state of the art equipment. The final day you will present your inspiration boards and your leathers to a professional audience from the local leather industry.

how to apply:This is an entry level workshop that is suitable for everyone. This is a great orientation workshop for those considering to apply for our Master of Footwear Innovation. To apply please email office@slem.nl.

dates:Monday, August 3 - Friday, August 7, 2015

hours:09:30 - 17:30 with one hour lunch break; lunch is provided at Ecco Leather and on Friday for the presentation. Please bring your own lunch on Monday though.

location:SLEM studio in Waalwijk (Monday and Friday)Ecco Leather Tannery, Dongen (Tuesday - Thursday)We will travel together by car from SLEM at 9:00 from Tuesday through Thursday to go to Ecco Leather. We will drive back at 17:30 on those days.

accommodation:You should arrange your own accommodation in (the vicinity of) Waalwijk. We have limited availability in our student housing, please inquire during application.

costs:The costs for the whole week are €499 excl. 21% VAT (€603,79). This includes images and materials for your mood boards - unless you want something very specific that we do not have - and two to three full skins with your own finish.

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each participant receives two or three skins with their finish experienced shoe makers can finish on the actual shoe

all kinds of finishes are possible, these are some tests of one participant

participants present their results at SLEM at the end of the week

the ecco tannery is an amazing place to work

each student gets its own ecco technician13

about anke louwersAnke Louwers is Head of Leather Design at Ecco Leather. She started there as a designer after graduating from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2008. She is responsible for the development of all new colours and finishes. Leather design is a highly specialized job that requires in-depth knowledge of both fashion and leather technology. Anke will inspire students to look at their ideas from many different angles, considering look, touch, feel, durability, function, versatility etc.

about diane beckerDiane Becker is SLEM’s own leather expert and didactic advisor. She is a native New Yorker, but based in Florence Italy, where she headed the footwear and accessories design department at Polimoda for 10 years. She is responsible for didactic projects for the Italian Consortium of Veg-tan Tanneries and is the director of International and Creative studies at Hiko Mizuno in Tokyo. Diane has worked with many leading footwear companies, such as Camper, Ferragamo, Pancaldi 1888, Tods, Ferrari and Ballantyne.

anke is discussing options with a participant developing finishes with diane becker

starting your own online sneaker brandwith Roderick Pieters & Nicoline van Enter

starting an online sneaker brandroderick pieters & nicoline van enter

Starting your own online brand with a week?! Yes... that is very possible! In fact, we have proven this many times over. This course is usually the first week of our Master of Footwear Innovation, but because of popular demand we are now offering it separately as a summer course, too. It is based upon the program and book called “Design Direct” by professor Roger Ball of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University that shows how designers can start a brand with minimal means in the digital age.

On the first day of the workshop you will make a basic sneaker, using a special sustainable construction that was developed by shoe designer and teacher Roderick Pieters. It can easily be made by hand, but looks professional.

After you have become acquainted with the construction, you will develop ideas for your own line together with Nicoline van Enter, SLEM’s creative director. You will draw up a basic business plan, thinking about what added value your line will bring and deciding on a name that will put your brand on top of any related search results list in Google.

In the next two days you will finish one or more prototypes for your brand, using the same cup sole construction. On the Friday you will fine-tune your brand, making professional images and text and opening an online store on Etsy, where you will sell your prototypes on pre-order.

how to apply:This is an entry level workshop that is suitable for everyone. This is a great orientation workshop for those considering to apply for our Master of Footwear Innovation. To apply please email office@slem.nl.

dates:Monday, August 10 - Friday, August 14, 2015

hours:10:00 - 18:00 with one hour lunch break (bring your own lunch).

location:SLEM studio in Waalwijk

accommodation:You should arrange your own accommodation in (the vicinity of) Waalwijk. We have limited availability in our student housing, please inquire during application.

costs:The costs for the whole week are €499 excl. 21% VAT (€603,79), this includes a maximum of 3 outsoles and the material. However if you want other leathers or synthetics than we have available at the SLEM studio, you will have to purchase them separately. It is possible to 3D print hardware, but you will have to pay for the filament you use.

We recommend you combine this workshop with the “design your own leather finish” workshop at Ecco Leather. This way you can use your own leather for your prototypes.

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most students start with their own size

slem always becomes one big messy creative space this week

at the end of the week you have your own online brand store on Etsy

slem student ruben lekkerkerker is now featured on major sneaker blogs

he was asked for catwalk shows with his no-waste shoe brand RUIT17

about roderick pietersRoderick Pieters is a Dutch footwear designer with a passion for sustainable and practical design, which has led him to think far outside the box about footwear construction. He graduated from ArtEZ in Arnhem and has since worked with a variety of brands and apparel designers, including Camper and Clarks. He is currently working on producing his own brand and teaches regularly at SLEM.

about nicoline van enterNicoline van Enter is the creative director and founder of SLEM. She is a world renowned footwear forecaster with over 20 years of experience, working for leading brands around the world, including Timberland, CAT, Birkenstock, Diesel, K-Swiss, Converse and many others. She lectures at universities and trade shows all over the globe and is known for her visionary yet practical approach that creates real added value for brands.

an example of one of roderick’s original constructions teaching at fashion institute of technology in new york

slem student housingSLEM has fully furnished student housing that is located on the other side of the square, right opposite the school. It only houses eight students though, so should you want to stay here then please specify this with your application. The house offers fully furnished student rooms including towels and bed linen, a washing machine, two shared bathrooms with shower and a large shared living/dining room and kitchen with all utensils.

Prices are €200 per week for a small room (about 15m2) and €300 for a medium room (about 20m2). Prices are including 21% VAT. All rooms are single rooms and can not be shared. Please include reservations for the student house in your application to office@slem.nl. Payment for the housing should be in advance.

You can check in on Sunday after 14:00 and check out on Saturday no later than 18:00. SLEM is in the pedestrian area of Waalwijk, so you can not park in front of the building. There is a parking lot close by though at Taxandriaweg 6, next to City Hall.

the shared kitchen

the spacious living roomthe view from the student house; it is right opposite to SLEM

the student rooms are fully furnished19

SLEM WaalwijkRaadhuisplein 1-25141KG WaalwijkThe Netherlandswww.slem.nloffice@slem.nl0416-757630