fashion

A London Trained Shoemaker in CT

‘I have always loved shoes,” said Lauren Brinkers at her pop-sale and display at Standard Space in Sharon, Conn., this fall. That love could not be more visually evident. In her studio in Cornwall, Conn., Brinkers creates velvet-soft boots from vegetable-tanned leather that she hand-paints with eco-friendly dye. “Before I knew I could learn to make shoes, I was in Indiana in college, studying to become a nurse. Still, I was going to Goodwill and vintage stores and buying cheap leather boots, cutting them and breaking my sewing machine, not knowing what I was doing. But I was obsessed with reimagining shoes.”

Her journey began in the United Kingdom while attending the Cordwainers shoemaking school in London. “I got this diverse and rich experience from school while also volunteering at factories in Hackney, filled with these very refined, polite, wonderful people who took tea every morning at 11 and then again at 2:30.”

Whimsically decorated and crafted with care, Brinkers’ shoes take inspiration less from the runway than from art books and oil paintings. “I create my leather dyes. It’s this whole romantic process for me. But the silhouette is like a pre-Raphaelite, old-world boot. It’s like a slipper but resembles a shoe you would see in a painting.”

To shop Lauren Brinkers shoes online go to www.laurenbrinkers.com

/
Lauren Brinkers and her painted leather shoes on display at a pop-sale in Sharon, Conn., this fall. Photo by Alexander Wilburn
fashion

Latest News

School lunch prices to rise at select District No. 1 schools

School lunch prices to rise at select District No. 1 schools

Housatonic Valley Regional High School, where the price of school lunch will increase to $4.00 beginning Jan. 5.

Nathan Miller

FALLS VILLAGE -- School lunch prices will increase at select schools in Regional School District No. 1 beginning Jan. 5, 2026, following a deficit in the district’s food service account and rising food costs tied to federal meal compliance requirements.

District officials announced the changes in a letter to families dated Monday, Dec. 15, signed by Superintendent Melony Brady-Shanley and Business Manager Samuel J. Herrick

Keep ReadingShow less

North Canaan Santa Chase 5K draws festive crowd

North Canaan Santa Chase 5K draws festive crowd

Runners line up at the starting line alongside Santa before the start of the 5th Annual North Canaan Santa Chase 5K on Saturday, Dec. 13.

By John Coston

NORTH CANAAN — Forty-eight runners braved frigid temperatures to participate in the 5th Annual North Canaan Santa Chase 5K Road Race on Saturday, Dec. 13.

Michael Mills, 45, of Goshen, led the pack with a time of 19 minutes, 15-seconds, averaging a 6:12-per-mile pace. Mills won the race for the third time and said he stays in shape by running with his daughter, a freshman at Lakeview High School in Litchfield.

Keep ReadingShow less

Regional trash authority awarded $350,000 grant to expand operations

Regional trash authority awarded $350,000 grant to expand operations

The Torrington Transfer Station, where the Northwest Resource Recovery Authority plans to expand operations using a $350,000 state grant.

By Riley Klein

TORRINGTON — The Northwest Resource Recovery Authority, a public entity formed this year to preserve municipal control over trash and recycling services in northwest Connecticut, has been awarded $350,000 in grant funds to develop and expand its operations.

The funding comes from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection via its Sustainable Materials Management grant program. It is intended to help the NRRA establish operations at the Torrington Transfer Station as well as support regional education, transportation, hauler registration and partnerships with other authorities.

Keep ReadingShow less

Ski jump camp for kids returns Dec. 27, 28

Ski jump camp for kids returns Dec. 27, 28
Ski jump camp for kids returns Dec. 27, 28
Photo provided

The Salisbury Winter Sports Association (SWSA) will host its annual Junior Jump Camp, a two-day introduction to ski jumping, on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 27 and 28, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Satre Hill in Salisbury.

The camp is open to children ages 7 and up and focuses on teaching the basics of ski jumping, with an emphasis on safety, balance and control, using SWSA’s smallest hill. No prior experience is required.

Keep ReadingShow less