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#this includes using them in profile pictures (though id prefer if you dropped credit in your bio !!)
collisiondiscourse · 3 years
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Would it be okay if I use "The King" as my wallpaper? I just really like it 💚
!! yes of course :) im super flattered you like it enough to do that!
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bluerose5 · 2 years
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The Ghost of Paradise (Exile AU)
Chapter 2: By the Minute
Rating: M
Word Count: 3,796
Tags: Mass Effect: Andromeda, Scott Ryder, Reyes Vidal, Reyder, Pre-Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Exile, Flirting, Secrets, Complicated Relationships, Eventual Romance, Rivalry, Engineer/Mechanic Scott Ryder, Jealousy
[Read it here as well on ao3.]
“Our agents say that you were speaking with Reyes Vidal at Kralla’s,” Nola said. She didn’t even give Scott a chance to breathe. The second he was through their gates —which were still a work in progress— Scott was ambushed. “Do I even want to know what you have planned?”
Scott grinned at her.
“Why must I always have something planned?” Scott asked. “Reyes is a good friend. For all you know, we could have been catching up over drinks.”
“‘Could have’ doesn’t mean that you were.”
“Fair enough.”
As she fell into step at his side, Nola led him around while they spoke, appraising their growing community with pride.
“Scott, as governor of Paradise, should I not be made aware of any transactions that might affect us?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“Tell me what I need to know then. Nothing more, nothing less.”
As if he could refuse her insistent prodding. Every time he left, he always forgot how relentless she could be upon his return, but only when it pertained to matters that could have both predictable and unforeseen effects in their future.
In a way, Scott was grateful to have someone with that type of dedication on their side. They’re going to need it.
“I swear, it wasn’t anything particularly groundbreaking,” Scott promised. “I gave him some seeds from our latest project in exchange for a long-ranged scanner modification. That’s it.”
“Hmm… A decent enough trade.”
“Glad to have your approval.”
Of course, it was too much to hope that she would leave it at that.
“What is it for?” Nola asked.
Scott knew from experience not to lie to her face.
He sighed. “I’m going to scout out some of the Remnant ruins nearby. See if I can get a read on their bots, or a turret if I’m lucky.”
She cocked her head to the side and considered that for a moment, lips pursed.
“Promise to be careful then. I know you would gladly give your life to protect any of these people, but we don’t need you to throw it away because of pure recklessness,” she reminded him. “If it comes down to an altercation, we would rather have you here than some lousy turret schematics. Besides—” She shrugged. “You would probably be the only one who could make sense of them anyways. You and that stupidly genius brain of yours.”
Scott scoffed, suddenly uncomfortable as he shifted in place.
“Got it from my parents, or so they say.”
Ellen and Alec Ryder. The woman who literally gave her life to perfect biotic implants and the man who created a whole new type of AI. Quite the legacy to live up to.
Good thing Scott wasn’t living his life based on their achievements. Andromeda was a whole different playing field compared to the Milky Way. The work he was doing with Paradise was incredible in its own right. At least, he liked to think so.
If he could change at least one person’s life for the better in Andromeda, then he considered that a success.
Based on the feedback he was receiving from the residents, he was doing a damn good job, and that was enough for him.
But Nola had a point.
People relied on Scott now. As much as he was willing to dive headfirst into danger, he needed to refrain from doing so.
“I’ll be careful,” he promised her. “If things start to go south, I’ll ping you and Nakamoto.”
“Thank you,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief.
Scott hated to worry her so, but there was that one other matter.
“If it’s any consolation to you,” Scott said, trying for a lighter tone yet failing, “Reyes offered to accompany me on the trip.”
Nola stopped short, and Scott skidded to a halt. She narrowed her eyes at him with a sneer curling at her lip.
“No, that is not of any consolation to me. Scott Ryder, you know how he is.”
“Charming and witty?” Scott tried for his best smile, but Nola wasn’t buying into that bullshit, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Flighty and untrustworthy, especially once his back is against the wall.” Then, she amended her statement, taking on a slightly accusatory tone. “That’s assuming you didn’t pay any of his ridiculous service fees.”
“Puh-lease.” Scott chuckled. “If anyone should be spending their credits, Reyes should be the one paying me for my company. I’m a treasure not many can afford.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Nola snorted, “but at least you know your worth.”
“They say that time is money, after all. I’ll make sure to charge him by the minute while we’re together.”
“Please do, and make sure to get a picture of his face once you show him that bill.”
Scott was only happy to see her smile again.
“Will do,” he said.
“While you’re at it, drop a few hints here and there that Paradise might be looking to contract out some exclusive deals with top-rate smugglers. Leave out the ‘top-rate’ part, of course. Can’t have that going to the poor man's head.”
“His ego is already insufferable enough without the compliments,” Scott agreed, “but isn’t the whole point of secrecy for you and I not to draw attention to our connections here?”
“A woman can dream though, can’t she?” Nola sighed.
“So much for Reyes being ‘untrustworthy.’”
Nola didn’t even hesitate, brushing off his attempt to use her words against her.
“Skill is skill, and we don’t exactly have the people or resources to be picky right now. Everything is a commodity on Kadara, even integrity. If he betrays us, we’ll deal with him, simple as that.”
Right.
Still, it was laughable to think that the Charlatan would take on a contract with some of his direct competitors.
Although, that sounds like exactly the type of stunt that Reyes would pull. More than likely, he’d have an ulterior motive for doing so, but Scott could see it happening.
Did he support the idea, though? Definitely not. 
“I don’t know,” Scott muttered. “I couldn’t see Reyes limiting his business to one group, especially if we’re only starting to get our feet wet.”
“You would know how he operates better than I, but I suppose that attitude is understandable. Disappointing, but understandable.” Nola grumbled. “Well, if nothing else, tell him the least he could do is give you a discount.”
“Trust me, I’ve been working that angle for a while. No such luck.”
“Greedy bastard.”
As they finished up their routine patrol, they soon switched direction, heading towards Nakamoto's clinic to conclude their meeting. There, Paradise’s leaders convened. They reviewed the requests that their colonists posted on the message boards around the settlement. Together, they decided on what matters they could approve for certain and which ones would be placed on the docket for a community vote. After that, they moved on to logistics, including topics such as requisitions and inventory.
To draw the meeting to a close, Nola relayed their latest numbers for colonial development. Water production was steady. However, food stores would be struggling soon to keep up with the recent influx of residents, so security personnel and all of those who knew their way around a gun were strongly encouraged to increase hunting and foraging activities while out on patrols or while performing their daily tasks. A roster will be posted on the local message boards to look for volunteers who would like to fill a full-time hunter-gatherer role.
Hopefully, what few angaran scientists they had amongst their people would be able to process their first batch of nutrient paste after their next harvest. It wasn’t exactly the tastiest solution available, but it was a necessary one if they were to survive.
In terms of population, there was a rapid spike in enrollment when word spread that Paradise actually got shit done and held true to their promises, but they expected the effect to eventually plateau once people settled in. Angara enrollment was up at the moment, especially after Scott appointed Nola as governor, and they have even seen a few Initiative members join up, having made the journey all the way from the Nexus to be reunited with friends, family, and loved ones.
Scott asked that they spread word for people to be warm and welcoming. The request probably wasn’t necessary, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Their community would make no friends by tearing people apart, and they prided themselves on being close and tight-knit.
It was important that they not only claimed to be but that they acted like it as well, backing up their words with actions.
Security assignments were then posted. Patrols would have to be upped to make up for an increase that they were seeing with gang-related attacks. Once automated security measures were in place, they would revisit the matter in order to assess which sectors needed heightened security. Emergency drills would be held at the end of the week.
With all of their needs addressed, Nola called the meeting to a close.
Once the meeting was adjourned, Scott approached Nola and their Head of Security, requesting a full census to be done within a day's time. Scott needed names, numbers, faces. Each citizen’s profile needed to be updated within their database.
If Scott was going to make an effective defense matrix for the colony, then he would prefer to program an IFF system that only a select few could remotely activate. For the system to work as intended, all of the colonists' photo IDs and biometric profiles would need to be kept current and constantly updated in real-time.
Nola promised to see to it that Scott got what he needed, shooing him off.
Apparently, he was hovering, but Scott could take a hint. He could tell when he was no longer needed, and he knew that Nola worked best when he wasn’t constantly worrying after her like a mother hen.
Departing from the settlement, Scott cloaked himself the second he went beyond the boundaries of their walls.
He was almost halfway back to Port when he received a message from Reyes. Figuring that he was in the clear, Scott made sure that the coast was clear before deactivating his cloak.
Pulling up his omni-tool’s interface, Scott opened the message. Along with it, there was a set of coordinates, sent from Reyes’s location.
R: Think I’m ready to cash in on those shuttle repairs. Wouldn’t mind the company right about now.
Scott’s fingers hovered above the holographic keys, contemplating his next move before deciding to hell with it.
S: Miss me that much?
R: Am I that obvious?
He didn’t even give Scott a chance to reply before he sent another message.
R: If it’s still in question though, let me put it bluntly.
R: I want to see you.
Scott pursed his lips, cursing his stupid heart for racing in response.
S: Give me a few. I’ll be there.
R: I’ll be looking forward to it.
Before he could embarrass himself, Scott closed out his messages. He quickly made his way to Port, grabbing his bag of tools and gear before venturing back out into the badlands.
From there, Scott followed the coordinates to a cliff, overlooking a nearby valley. The sun was slowly but surely sinking down over the horizon, lightning up the sky in array of pinks and oranges and reds.
Reyes was already waiting for him by the time he arrived, the shuttle powered down for the moment.
However, the second Scott noticed that Reyes was facing away from him, he instantly slowed his walk to a crawl. He bent his knees into a slight crouch and shifted his weight with each step, toe to heel as he snuck his way up behind him.
“You look like you’re waiting for someone.”
Scott delighted in watching him him jump in shock, only to have a blade at his throat in the blink of an eye.
As soon as Reyes realized who it was, all the blood drained from his face.
“S–Scott!”
Hands raised in surrender, Scott raised an eyebrow at him incredulously.
“You know, I was kind of expecting a warmer welcome,” he admitted, careful of the firaan's sharp edge. Keema must have given it to him. “Have to say, though, would it be weird if I was a little turned on right now?”
Reyes scoffed.
Trailing the blade along the outline of his throat, Scott swallowed thickly when he eventually felt its pointed tip press underneath his chin. Reyes tilted it up, and Scott followed, lest he risk being cut.
Their eyes met, and Reyes smirked.
Bastard was toying with him.
Retracting his knife, Reyes sheathed the firaan while Scott tried to catch his breath. The goosebumps left behind in the dagger's wake soon receded, yet a warm heat lingered.
“Tsk.” Reyes huffed at him. “Ryder—”
Uh-oh, back to last name basis. From experience, that meant trouble.
“You know better than to sneak up on me!” Reyes scolded.
“I do,” Scott said, not even afraid to acknowledge it, “but I love getting a rise out of you.”
“What if I would have hurt you?”
“But you didn’t.”
Scowling, Reyes placed his hands on his hips. Shaking his head, he pinched at the bridge of his nose.
“Scott, what the hell am I going to do with you?” he asked, releasing his nose, half-fond and half-frustrated.
“I’m sure we could think of something.”
Reyes hummed in agreement, watching Scott approach the shuttle with his bag tossed over his shoulder. He dropped it to the ground, then immediately got to work.
Watching him closely, Reyes leaned against the side of his shuttle with a thoughtful look.
“Maybe I could take you on a date?”
While Reyes tried to sound confident, his attempt ultimately failed. Instead of forming the words into a bold offer, they fell flat, sounding more like an uncertain question.
Scott stopped what he was doing. He spared Reyes a brief glance, only to return his attention to the task at hand, hiding his flushed face.
“Wouldn’t Zia disapprove?” Scott asked, being rougher than necessary as he practically took apart the control panel.
Envy curled inside him, spreading like an infection through his bloodstream. There was a sharp squeeze around his heart as it was encased in the feeling.
Reyes called him out on it, way too perceptive for his own good.
“Ryder, are you jealous?” Reyes chuckled.
Scott glared, causing him to throw his hands up in surrender.
“Just asking.”
“And if I am?” Scott retorted.
“Then I’d have to put your mind at ease.”
“It’s really none of my busin—”
Reyes closed the distance between them. Reaching out, he cupped Scott’s cheek, brushing his thumb along his bottom lip. Weak as he was, Scott leaned into his touch for a split second. His eyes threatened to flutter closed, but he had to remain firm about this one matter, if nothing else.
As he started to pull away, Reyes said, “There is nothing going on between Zia and I.” Scott froze into place. “We went out for drinks a few times, nothing more.”
“You swear?” Scott asked, narrowing his eyes.
“I swear.” His voice grew heated, impassioned. “I might be a bad man when it comes to many things, but I wouldn’t ever lie about that to you.”
Scott considered that before replying, “Well, like I said—” He cleared his throat, eyes averted. “ It’s not really any of my business, so I don’t know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.”
He trailed off, uncertain why he was acting that way.
Reyes furrowed his brow.
“No need to be sorry. If you had crossed a line, then I would have said so.”
“Even then, you’re not mine. Your relationships are your own.”
“I could be.”
Scott regarded him skeptically.
“Could be what?”
“Yours,” Reyes answered instantly, staring intently at Scott. “Just say the word.”
If only they weren’t both keeping secrets from each other at the moment, then Scott might take him up on that.
Turns out, being with the Charlatan would be a huge conflict of interests. Who could’ve guessed?
Silence settled between them. It was as if the whole world was awaiting Scott’s answer with bated breath. Time itself seemed to stand still in anticipation.
“I—” He struggled to find the right words. “Give me time.”
That’s all he could ask.
Reyes’s hopeful expression fell, and that alone felt like a stab to the chest. Scott's breathing trembled a little, as if it was becoming difficult to continue drawing in one breath after another.
God, he didn’t want to hurt him, but neither of them could really afford to rush into things half-cocked.
Scott copied his earlier gesture, reaching out to cup Reyes’s cheek. The change was almost instantaneous, how the tension drained away, only for Reyes to melt into Scott’s touch. He leaned into his hand, starved for affection.
Scott swallowed thickly, unable to pull away, let alone take his eyes off of him for even a second.
“All I ask is that you give me time,” Scott repeated. “That’s not a ‘no.’ I just need to think a few things over, iron out a few details.”
Reyes listened, then agreed.
“Alright.” He pulled away with a small, private smile. “As if I could deny anyone such a reasonable request, especially you.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Returning his attention to the shuttle, Scott got back to work. After all, he didn’t want to neglect the poor bird, and it appeared that the shuttle was in desperate need of a little TLC.
His diagnostics only confirmed his suspicions.
When a couple of sparks resulted from his prodding, Scott chastised Reyes for mistreating their baby. Reyes grew defensive, both of them falling back to old habits as they bickered.
This was the type of work that Scott did on the Nexus after he got sidelined and shafted. Systems repairs, shuttle repairs, routine maintenance… That sorta thing.
It was how he met Reyes to begin with. Few pilots had the energy to hang around and talk shop with Scott while he worked, especially since a lot of them had only recently returned from failed colonization efforts. Understandably, most people didn’t want to entertain idle conversation after watching their friends die out in the field.
That was fine by Scott, but Reyes had always gone out of his way —even then— to make sure that Scott had anything and everything that he needed.
They might have taken his shuttle out on a few joyrides together, gotten in trouble for wasting fuel, but Scott wouldn’t trade that time they spent together for anything in the galaxy.
Even now, it felt natural to settle back into their old routine. While Scott worked, Reyes watched, and they talked about anything and everything.
Time passed, and Scott only got deeper into the repairs and modifications. Despite the setting sun, he still broke a sweat, a light sheen glistening upon his skin.
Eventually, he had to take off his shirt, leaving him in a plain tank top that quickly got dirty along with his hands.
Swiping at the perspiration beading at his hairline, Scott grunted as he came to a stopping point for now. He reached for his bag, but what he was seeking wasn’t there.
“Shit.”
Turning towards Reyes, Scott huffed at him.
The bastard wasn’t even trying to hide his staring. Face flushed, he was biting teasingly at his bottom lip, brown eyes dark as he watched Scott through a hooded gaze.
Getting to his feet, Scott crossed his arms over his chest.
“See something you like?”
“Definitely.”
“You’re shameless.” Scott shook his head in disbelief, tsking under his breath. “You’re just as bad as that one time when Gil Brodie asked for a ‘second opinion’ on some fix he made. Turns out, I ended up doing almost all of the work while he sat back and watched.”
“Smart man,” Reyes noted, giving Scott a thorough once-over. “This Gil must have great tastes.”
Scott snorted.
“Flattery will get you nowhere. If you really want to make me happy, then you would grab your water bottle for me.”
“Did you forget yours?” Reyes asked, slightly concerned. After all, being caught out in the badlands without water was just asking for dehydration or heat stroke.
Nevertheless, he got the bottle for him. Scott placed his hands over Reyes’s, shrugging with a flustered blush.
“Yeah,” Scott sighed. “I thought I had packed it! I don’t know where it could’ve wandered off to.”
“Perhaps you were in a bit of a rush to get here,” Reyes said, trailing off suggestively.
Scott figured that he would allow that.
“Perhaps,” he agreed, “but what else do I keep you around for, if not the water? You wouldn’t want the guy repairing your shuttle to get dehydrated, right?” Scott smirked. “I could get delirious, and it would be very unfortunate if I just so happened to forget to install an essential component.”
Reyes gasped dramatically, relinquishing the water to Scott, who was quick to take a swig.
“You always have to watch out for the pretty ones,” Reyes grumbled. “Always causing trouble, keeping secrets…”
There it was again. That sense of knowing , that sense that both of them were holding something back. It was left unsaid. Neither confronted the other about it, but they knew that the secrets were there.
Before the sudden lag in conversation could get too awkward, Scott took another swig of water and asked, “So, you think I’m pretty?”
Reyes chuckled, glad for the change of subject.
“Kian seems to think so,” he muttered. Leave it to him to avoid the question. “He keeps asking when you’re going to start working for him at Tartarus.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“As a dancer?” He had to make sure he was hearing right.
“Yep.”
“Could you imagine?” Scott scoffed. “Me, shaking my ass for money? A tempting offer. It would probably be more profitable than the odd jobs I take on here and there, but I think I’m fine where I’m at.”
“Damn,” Reyes sighed, “what a shame.”
Scott raised an eyebrow in his direction.
“You saying you would have come to watch me?”
“Not only that, but I would have paid to watch you,” Reyes said, “especially if I could have gotten a private show out of it.”
Scott tried to imagine it, grinning in spite of himself.
“What’s so funny?” Reyes wondered.
“Nothing, nothing,” Scott said, brushing off his concern. “That just made me remember a thought that I had earlier.”
“What about?”
“Oh, you know.” Scott gestured vaguely. “Just that I should start charging you a fee for when we spend time together.”
Reyes winked at him.
“It would be worth every credit.”
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amolatinaapp-blog · 4 years
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welldresseddadblog · 5 years
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It’s a universal truth, that shoes made in the UK are good, very good. They are well put together, sturdy, made with materials far superior to that of a mass produced shoe that you would find in a High Street “Fashion Emporium. They generally look better too, are more substantial, a better shape, and a better and more standardised fit.
However, there is, like everything of quality, a price to pay. A quick glance at Church’s website shows a price range of £240 to £780. Cheaneys, Crockett & Jones, Grenson, Sanders and Alfred Sargent prices are fairly similar. Which is entirely understandable, it takes time, effort and cost to make these shoes, they are usually handcrafted in a factory by workers that have many years of experience and take great pride in their work. There’s no false flag-flying heritage here, these are brands that have been doing it a long time, in the same county, Northamptonshire, for a couple of hundred years, to exacting standards. They are an item worth paying for.
A splendid pair of Church Chetwynd formal brogues, resoled with Dainite soles.
How can I get affordable quality?
But let’s look at how you can buy into this, to enjoy the longevity and comfort and quality, but for the price of the ubiquitous, bog standard, made elsewhere shoes. There are a lot of secondhand British Made shoes on eBay. And as you are buying something that has been built to last, and I mean built, even those that seem at first glance to be on their way to the Clothes For Charity Bin at the end of the local Tesco Car Park, well there is a future, a way out of it, to be worn again with pride. Doesn’t that make you feel warm inside?
So, let’s look at the options, the brands, what to look for and how to bring them back up to a standard that will give you a lifetimes use. A well made British Shoe just feels and looks better, it has a certain profile and presence, but not all brands are equal, especially so with shoes. We are narrowing it down to British Shoes made in the County of Northamptonshire, the traditional centre of shoemaking in the UK.
What is the most reasonably priced brand?
I’m going to deal with NPS and their brand Solovair first. NPS had a long association with Dr Martens as indeed their styling confirms, also the name Solovair is Sole Of Air, a pun on AirWear. The full story of their involvement with Dr.Martens is covered by Nick elsewhere so I will let you find out that way, it’s definitely worth a read. These brands cover the cheaper end of the market, relatively speaking, at £180-£250, and second hand making between £40 – £130 usually. I am a huge fan of them, they are like Dr Martens that we don’t have to break in, the leather is soft and the soles extremely comfortable. They don’t come up secondhand as often as the others so you have to be patient, but they are an absolute bargain. My only caution would be to avoid the safety shoes, they have a built-in metal toecap, great for dropping stuff on your toes, not so good when going for a walk. The soles, made by themselves, are very hardwearing, unlike Dr Martens sold today now which actually have a Facebook page dedicated to their lack of longevity. Should the soles eventually wear down a new pair can be ordered from their website for £15, which can then be handed to your friendly local cobbler.
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Typical thick sole Solivair shoe by NPS
NPS also make a thinner and more formal comfortable sole.
The shoe is Goodyear welted, while the rubber sole is melted on.
And the more expensive ones?
Let’s look at the rest of the brands now. I’ll lump these together, as the same buying advice and repair process applies to them all. We’ll discuss the condition, what you can do to bring up to scratch, and average pricing.
On shoes of this standard, the soles will almost always be either leather or quality rubber. The rubber will be either flat, Dainite or commando. See pictures for the difference. In the worst case scenario, which still isn’t that bad honestly, the rubber will be worn down, or the leather will be so worn the stitching will be worn through too, the leather upper will be creased, possibly cracked, they will look as if they’ve never seen a shoe tree.
If the shoes look like this, let them go, regardless of price.
This reader is where the bargains lie. There are, as I type, plenty of shoes starting at around £30 and I reckon most in this condition will sell for under £50. But as these shoes will have been constructed using what’s called Goodyear Welting, or the less common Veldtschoen, they can be rebuilt. and renewed. Let me explain the basics.
What do I do if they are ropey underneath?
Generally, your friendly local cobbler will be able to fit soles of leather, providing they originally did, or rubber. My preference is always rubber over leather (for shoe soles that is). Leather certainly looks right for formal and sounds great on certain flooring, however, it doesn’t last as long and, more importantly, it’s a bit slippy on most surfaces, it soaks up water, and therefore isn’t nearly as practical. So if you are intending wearing the shoes day to day then rubber is best. Dainite is great, it has a slim profile that suits a narrower formal fit shoe or a wider more Country style. It grips fairly well too, though not on slippy, wet surfaces. Commando soles are certainly the most practical option and give country brogues a fantastic profile and overall look. You can have it fitted as either a separate heel and toe or as a full sole. Generally, outside London, a full resole in both materials will cost you around £25-£40 for the full sole. if you want the best one, Vibram is around £40. You can read more about soles here.
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Leather soles
Dainite rubber soles
Commando rubber soles
So you’ve had them resoled. So let’s look at the uppers, always leather, either smooth, pebbled or suede. If you’ve managed to score a pair under £50 there’s a good chance the uppers will be a bit sorry looking. First thing, get them in a pair of shoe trees and leave them for a while, this will let you see the extent of the damage, whether it’s just a bit of lovely patina or whether they’re knackered. Often the leather will be a bit dry, as it hasn’t seen any care or attention for a long time. Fear not. There’s plenty of good products on the market to help you.
How do I care for my great new shoes?
First, you want to give the leather a good feed. Not Sandwiches. Leather Food, a cream that will be rubbed deep into all the marks and cracks and will bring the hide back to life. There are many instructional videos and texts online about the best products and best method so I won’t add to it. Next, we’ll come to the polish, pick a shade nearest to your shoes and get rubbing. I have always bought Saphir polish which comes in various grades and colours and for different types of finish. I find their Pate De Luxe is a very reasonable price and works so much better than all the stuff available in your local supermarket.
A pair of vintage Cheaneys Veldtschoen shoes in decent condition
Cheap Shoes For Life
I’m not going to tell you how to polish your shoes, again there are lots of experts out there giving instructions, suffice to say do it when required and it’ll make your shoes last longer. A new pair of suitable laces will also really lift your shoes, look at the lace holes and buy a suitable size and colour. A cheap and effective upgrade. And buy shoe trees, even it’s just the standard plastic bendy ones that are a few pounds a pair, it’s better than no shoe trees, keeps the shape and again helps the longevity.
Do the makers restore their shoes?
I should mention here that many of the manufacturers do their own full refurbishment service should you wish, where they’ll fully refurbish the uppers and fit new soles. Cheaney as an example charges about £115. It really is like a whole new pair of shoes and can be done up to three times. Be warned though, there are certain caveats: If your shoes are too old, they might not still have the lasts to refurbish them, if they are too far gone they may be unable to work on them, and they may also refuse to work on them if they have been worked on by others. If your shoes are fairly recent, in good condition and not been fiddled with before, you’re golden. Grenson refurbish around 400 pairs of shoes a week.
A pair of top of the line Grenson “Masterpiece” brogues, resoled with red Victory soles
So what might I expect to pay?
So let’s look at average costs. As I mentioned earlier, £30 is really a starting price. They’ll need the work mentioned above. £30 to £70 is where the bargains can be had. Brogues and pebbled Derbies will tend to make the strongest money. Plain Derbies, Cap Toe and a more formal Brogue will generally be less. At this price they will, again generally, need a resole however the uppers will generally be in decent condition, just maybe needing a good clean.
Do your eBay searching by brand name and size, take in what’s available and the pricing and try to spot a bargain, use the function that blows up the size of the picture and have good look.  Keep a close lookout for damage other than normal wear and tear. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for a picture that you think may be helpful to you. It’s your money they want!
More than £70 and you are looking at a shoe that is in the condition you could happily just put on and away you go. They will still have a bit of patina, and let’s not forget they may have been worn for many years, but do not worry about that. In fact, embrace that history. Church’s and Cheaney tend to make the strongest money, with the rest slightly less. I would try not to worry too much about the actual brand, the quality of them all is excellent. Just concentrate on them being in the style you prefer and that you’ll get the most use from. A lot of specific sixties and seventies styles are still around too, but unless you want something very obviously retro rather than timeless, I would avoid them. With these shoes, there is often a width fitting listed E for narrow F for standard and G for Wide. Worth thinking about.
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A pair of captoe Grensons, possibly recoloured
Rare 1970’s split-toe Barkers “Paris” look quite modern
Does the colour matter?
Brown or Tan shoes are certainly more wearable and more versatile, but if its shoes for more formal wear, black tends to actually be a bit cheaper. If you are spending over say £120 then you are really looking for shoes in excellent condition that may have already had a refurbishment, are possibly still boxed, nearly new even. But like anything bought on eBay bargains can be had, look for low starting prices, listings finishing at odd times or mistakes in the actual listing.
Anything else I need to know?
So before you head off down the High Street or even log on to one of the online fashion giants, stop. Think on. You’re a grown up now, you need grown-up shoes. For the same money you could end up with a beautiful pair of made in Britain, hand made shoes, with a long tradition of craftsmanship behind them, that will last as long as you look after them. And people notice shoes, they really do.
Text by Shaun Brown (@these_rough_notes on Instagram)
How to buy quality goodyear welted shoes that will last a lifetime at an affordable or even bargain price online #brogue #shoe #goodyearwelted #ebay #bargain #traditional #northamptonshire #traditional It’s a universal truth, that shoes made in the UK are good, very good. They are well put together, sturdy, made with materials far superior to that of a mass produced shoe that you would find in a High Street “Fashion Emporium.
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19 Softwares We Use To Run Our Floral Studio, by StemCounter
Hi Flower Friends, today we are sharing a post by our friends Ryan & Rachel over at StemCounter. They are sharing 19 Softwares they use to run their floral studio –
Four years ago my wife, Rachael, and I (Ryan) started Twisted Willow Design, a St. Louis wedding florist, from the ground up. Most people just think of me as the Stemcounter guy, but Stemcounter would have never existed had we not been so frustrated with some of the difficulties of running a floral company. One of the coolest things we hear from other florists is how much they appreciate us being candid about our shop in St. Louis and sharing our ups and downs in our blog, The Business of Flowers. In keeping with that, we wanted to share some of the softwares and apps that help make us more effective in our business and save us countless headaches.
General Business Management
Pandora – Yes, this takes the top place on our list. Having music on while designing, or even while doing the more mundane tasks like accounting, sets the mood for a great day at work. On our Pandora you’ll find Brandon Heath Radio and Tauren Wells Radio.
Google Drive – We keep our files in Drive so all of our team members can access them when needed. We have everything from our marketing materials to employee/freelancer contracts to our client contract templates in Drive.
Gravity Forms – We use Gravity Forms to power our Budget Calculator and Check My Date tools on our website and to collect additional information from our clients. Gravity forms is a plugin for wordpress.
WordPress – Our website, TwistedWillow.co, runs on WordPress. It makes managing the site a whole lot easier and the fact that we can integrate Gravity Forms with ease is a win for us. Here are a few tips for the florist website that dramatically increased our conversions.
Google Forms – We use google forms to get a more detailed questionnaire from our clients. Not sure what to include in your client questionnaire? We’re sharing ours with you as a free, downloadable template!
Stemcounter Forms – We’ll keep our budget calculator on gravity forms but soon there will be a new forms tool in Stemcounter Studio that will eliminate the need for Gravity Forms and Google forms. We’re SUPER excited to have this seamless integration coming so clients can put inquiries directly into our system.
Finances and Payments
Wave – Wave is a free accounting software. While we don’t subscribe to the theory that everything free is better, in this case Wave is far simpler to understand than other softwares. Some other tools that we know florists use for their accounting are Quickbooks and Freshbooks.
Wave Receipts App – With the Wave Receipts App, it’s easy to keep track of business-related receipts by simply taking a picture of them and uploading them to Wave. It can then even automatically match up the receipt to our bookkeeping record.
Stripe – We accept credit card payments through Stripe. It’s integrated into Stemcounter, which makes life much easier for us. We do know other florists who use Square and Paypal.
Banking App – Some clients still prefer sending in hard copy checks, and that’s okay. Our bank has an app that allows us to take a picture and deposit the check immediately. Unfortunately there is a limit to how much so we have to literally go to the bank with our checks. (We sound so helpless without our tech, don’t we??)
Stemcounter Invoices and Payments- We utilize Stemcounter for our proposals and our invoices. Because of how it’s set up, the proposal actually doubles for the invoice for most of our clients. When clients (especially businesses) need to see the word “invoice”, we just use a separate link that is the invoice link. Stemcounter also sets up the payment schedule for our clients to follow and with Stemcounter Studio we have the ability to generate a payments report to keep up with when certain payments are due.
Marketing
Instagram – Because of the visual nature of this social platform, this is a great way for us to show off our work while giving our best wishes to newlyweds. It serves as inspiration for brides around the globe and gives potential clients a taste of Twisted Willow Design’s style. For the most part, Instagram is a ancillary tools because most of our clients only use our services us once. So we treat it as additional proof for clients who are already looking into us. (Though…we have gotten a client or two from it.)
Facebook – Similar to Instagram, Facebook allows us to share our unique style with potential clients but because our Facebook profile has room for more information about us, potential clients are often quicker to initially reach out to us through this platform.
The Knot – The Knot has been the best online tool we’ve used to gain clients. I’ve spoken with thousands of florists and from those conversations it seems this is really a decision that varies depending on region and tier of the market. Other tools that florists use are WeddingWire and Thumbtack. One of the keys to finding new clients is to have a completed profile on The Knot with reviews that sing high praises of our work.
Wedding Shows – Okay, so this one isn’t really a florist software we use but it is a very important part of our marketing plan because it gives a chance to personally connect with brides and employ Rachael’s genius trick for getting more leads.
Booking Clients
Stemcounter – We use only one app for booking clients (often on-the-spot in a consultation). It allows us to create beautiful proposals that include our contract on them, which clients can sign directly from the proposal. We can also send a digital link to the proposal that’s accessible on any device they’re using. With that, they can view the proposal, view the inspiration photos full screen, sign, and pay from the same screen.
Contracts – We now use Stemcounter for contracts. We used to use to just mail our contract or email a pdf and have them mail it to us signed. We’ve tried Docusign but didn’t use it that much before we shifted to Stemcounter.
Communicating with clients
Gmail – Our business email addresses are powered by Gmail and google apps. Our custom email addresses come off as more professional than having a standard “@gmail.com” address, which is an important thing for us. Not only that, we have full access to all of Google’s tools.
Google Voice – Rachael and I aren’t from the St. Louis area. We knew that we needed a local number to help earn clients’ trust but didn’t really want to change our phone numbers. Google voice solved our problem by giving us a free local business number where we can get texts and calls. As an added bonus, because clients don’t have our personal numbers, we’ve been able to put a line between our business and personal lives.
Streak Snippets – Streak is a CRM software but we only really use Snippets, which allows us to create and use template responses easily, rather than having to write the same “Thank you for contacting us” email over and over again. We do plan on introducing some email template tools in Stemcounter before long!
Pinterest – Some florists may use Pinterest as a marketing tool. We actually don’t do many boards ourselves. We use it to access to our clients’ boards and then we use Pinterest Drag and Drop directly to Stemcounter.
Execution
Awesome Note – There are ten million things that need to be done the week of an event and Awesome Note helps us keep track of them all, even syncing time-sensitive tasks to our calendar if we’d like.
Word – With our list of tasks in hand, we develop a game plan for the week to give to our team members that includes what needs to get done and who is responsible for each task.
Stemcounter – We use Stemcounter to create our wholesale lists a couple weeks ahead of time. This saves us HOURS in itself. Probably our biggest time saving feature. We also can generate out our recipes for our freelancers to have access too.
I hope these help!
-Ryan with Twisted Willow Design
P.S. You’d also love our blog that focuses on The Business of Flowers, where we give away advice on cool topics on anything from what makes an awesome florist logo to great wedding florists websites and give-a-ways like a free wedding florist contract template.
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