Total Time: 4 Days

Day One: Preface

One of my favorite movies of all time is Monga. In this Taiwanese movie, there is a man named Geta, who is named such for his legendary use of geta sandals to fend off blades. Inspired by this, I decided to make a pair of geta sandals for Tono to be used in an upcoming fashion show. A geta is comprised of three components: the “dai” as a solid wooden base, the “ha” as two wooden supports and the “hanau“ a fabric thong passed between the big toe and the next toe to secure the sandal to the foot.

Day Two: The Wood Shop

I believe geta sandals were created as a simple solution to a number of daily problems. With this in mind, I wanted the sandals to have a generous clearance from the ground, imagine stilts protecting you from puddles and dusty divots. I also knew I wanted the sandals to be made from a hard wood, just in case they needed to survive a bladed onslaught.

I decided on a piece of Cherry wood and started cutting channels on the “dai” for the “ha” to slot in. After the “ha” was glued in, I used an orbital sander to shape the sandal. I channeled thoughts of water ripples and wood carving as inspirations for the shape. As a collective, we were also aiming for a very slab-esque silhouette for the “dai” and I feel the ripples served as a commune between the soft organic wood grain and the sharp nature of a slab of wood.

Day Three: The Burning

RPM, who has a self proclaimed “Cutesy Gore” style, was given free reign to “doodle” on the sandals with a wood burner. With that style, she visually manifested many of our inside jokes as well as other whimsical takes on the mythology of everyday life. On the bottom we have the Tono logo, from the front view we can see RPM’s surname in Chinese characters and from the rear view we have my surname character.

Day Four: Tying It All Together

Tono is a Chicago clothing brand started by Jireh Louie. With his extensive knowledge in design, he decided to use a full cotton twisted rope. This chunky and robust rope allows for a large, rounded surface area to make contact with the feet. The full cotton construction also allows for a minimal stretch that keeps the foot secured to the geta. All of these factors ensure that the “hanau” is comfortable and secure. Some high wearing points were reinforced with red heat shrink. The shape of the “hanau” also allows the user to wear the geta sandal with a heel strap for extra security. Alternatively, the heel strap can be lifted and the geta sandal can be worn in a more traditional slip on fashion with the heel strap resting on the midfoot.