Mystery pointe shoe company Sydney Australia

Yay recently I found some unused pointe shoes for sale at the market.  A local ballet school was selling them for decoration as they were not suitable for pointe work anymore having been sitting around for yonks.

And amongst them were several pairs of shoes from a company I've not heard of before. The stamp on the leather sole reads 

MADE BY 

BARRIE

SYDNEY

First I thought it said Baccie because of the font but I'm pretty sure it's Barrie. So another local company. Anyone heard of them? 

As they are old store stock there is no telling when they were made but long enough for the glue that holds the sock liners to dry out and for the sock liner itself to begin to deteriorate. The lady selling them said they were a cheapie brand.
Two pair are pointes and one demi-pointes. 

Both pairs of pointes are arched and have a red synthetic shank but one pair has another layer on top of that which has a certainly level of give in it. Then on top of that is a vinyl looking sock liner which has dried out and broken in places.
Anyhow that's my newest discovery.

German pointe shoes by G.Martin

Recently I came across a pair of black pointes on eBay Germany which I fell in love with but sadly the vendor didn't trade internationally.  Aren't they just gorgeous?  Love that tapered toe!  I don't know how old they are but they look vintage to me (and I'm such an expert).
Not being able to buy them broke my heart.  But perhaps you were the fortunate person who bought them.
They were listed as made in West Germany by G.Martin Ballettschuhe 6051 Waldacker. 
This is marked on the inner sole (the original pics on eBay were clearer). The markings on the leather sole include a logo made up of a pointe shoe inside a square/rectangle. This looks almost identical to the pointe shoe logo of K.H.Martin so was it a forerunner? According to the K.H.Martin website they began manufacturing pointe shoes in 1964, but no mention of a G.Martin. However Waldacker is in Rödermark  which is where K.H.Martin started up.

K.H.Martin has a history of naming shoes after family members so perhaps Mrs Martin was involved or another family member whose name began with G!
The size was listed as Gr.40 with a leathersole and

since my german language skills are right up there with my pointe shoe technical knowledge here's what Google translate came up with from the listing.

"from estate:
Hardly used ballet shoes pointe shoes

just inside the foam pad are from the long lie in the shoe gebröselt".

...which is less than helpful.  However further translation indicates that 'gebröselt' means crumbled. So I suspect it means the foam toe pads which you can see in the second photo have crumbled from lying inside the shoe for so long. (This might lend some weight to my idea that they are vintage whatever that means now.)

In case any of you speak German here is the original detail from eBay Germany:
"aus Nachlass:
Ballettschuhe Spitzenschuhe kaum benutzt
nur innen sind vom langen liegen in dem Schuh das Schaumstoffpolster gebröselt"

I could write to the company but given my German skills I thought I'd ask if any one out there has any information on the company to please leave a comment.

Do you collect pointe shoes?

I figure there must be a quite a few pointe shoe collectors around the world and probably not all of us are dancers.
I wouldn't call what I have a collection really as I've just bought some used and new pairs to explore and use in my art.  
And there is no way I could afford to buy all the brands and styles out there nor do I have the space for them. 
I think it's sad that because pointes have been seen as a disposable item there are precious few vintage or historical shoes about.  They served their purpose and then typically were discarded. Dancers may have kept some for sentimental reasons but most eventually were tossed.
And I suppose it's only now with access to the internet that we can share the vast amount of information about the many brands and styles that exist. Before the world wide web it was a few lines in the dictionary and if you were lucky you might have access to a dance shop that sold pointes.
I found a couple of videos on YouTube of pointe shoe collections. But not nearly enough to feed my addiction.
I've had more luck in finding pointe shoe blogs. 
I particularly love pointeshoebrands.wordpress.com! 
If you want lots of info on particular brands all in one place I'd have to say that's the blog!  I've been reading my way through it for weeks. The blogger is a dancer and obviously knows her stuff. 
It's wonderful reading her insights into different brands and styles.  So far she has found 61 companies which make or have made pointe shoes around the world. 
Since I'm not a dancer and have no technical knowledge on the topic it's wonderful to read blogs like 'pointeshoebrands'.
Anyway if you collect pointe shoes or just are just obsessed like me, please let me know what fascinates you. 
Do you have a favourite brand? Style? Colour? 

Wooden ballet pointe shoe lasts

Given that I'm a tad obsessed with pointe shoes it wasn't surprising when I spied wooden pointe shoe lasts for sale, I pounced on them!
I mean - WOW - pointe shoe lasts!
To actually have a piece of pointe shoe history in the form of a shoe last seemed irresistible to me.
The only place I've ever seen them before was in videos on YouTube and I think all modern ones are made from a synthetic material which would 'last' longer than the old style wooden ones.  (Pardon the pun.)
So when they arrived the other day I was pretty damned pleased with myself.

They were a lot of four - two of size 7C which are HUGE and two singles, a 2 1/2C and a 1 1/2C - marked Krentler Bros of Milwaukee whom I believe were the actual maker of the lasts. The two smaller ones also have J495 stamped on their sides which may be the style.
The other number is 8-58 which suggests perhaps they were made in 1958.  The seller indicated that plastic shoe lasts were introduced in the 1960s which would seem consistent with these being older. I don't know if Krentler Bros also made shoes or if not, which company used these lasts. 
The smallest of the four - the 1 1/2C fits perfectly (very snugly) inside a Freed professional 4D to give you some idea of the sizing.
They have a very pleasing feel to them. But then wooden things do.  
And even after all their wear, with the last inside the shoe they still balance just like they show you in the videos on YouTube. 
I'm rapt!

Ooooo red ballet pointes with metal toes

I was cruising the web for vintage ballet pointes (as I do) and discovered this intriguing pair sold on Etsy last year. 
Aren't they amazing! 
This pair of red satin steel toed ballet pointe shoes was made by the Chicago Theatrical Shoe Company. 
The Etsy seller felt they were from the late 1940s - a la Moira Shearer in the movie 'The Red Shoes'.
The leather soles are stamped with the maker's name - and the term 'super-toe' referring presumably to the steel toes.
I've seen a few pairs of steel toed ballet pointes now but they are all different.
I'm amazed at how the colour has lasted to be honest.  They may have faded but the colour is still very strong.

And here is a press advertisement from the Chicago Theatrical Shoe Company from 1927 (available on eBay).
Now I'm dying to watch those old dancing movies from the late 40s and 50s to see if I can spot any toe tapping ballet dancers. 

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Welcome to my pointe shoe obsession

Ballet pointe shoes fascinate me.  
I know I'm not alone in that.  
I can't even claim it's because I was a ballet dancer of many years. 
Yes I did the almost obligatory classes when young but when the only teacher left town any chance of pursuing ballet classes disappeared with her.  
But the love of ballet shoes and tutus remained although it lay dormant for many years.  A friend during my teens gave me an old pair of her pointe shoes which I treasured for years but eventually gave to the thrift shop believing I had moved on. 
I hadn't. 
I wanted pointe shoes. 
I wanted worn, tattered pointe shoes, ones with poetry in them. 
I wanted new ones.
I wanted to decorate and embellish them.
I wanted to dissect them.
I wanted to know how they were made.
I wanted to understand their evolution.
I wanted to know about the companies that made them - past and present.
I wanted to collect them.
I wanted to find out what the differences were between them.
I wanted to make sculptures with them.
So this blog is about my dreams.  
A dream of peach satin, of ribbons, shanks and platforms.