PI: Bojan Knific | Collaborators: Andreja Rauch and Andrej Lamut
Project ID: 2021SG03 | Location of Research: Tržič, Slovenia
Host Institution: Tržiški muzej / Tržič Museum
The project presents traditional shoemaking in Tržič – two different procedures that are still alive but are disappearing because of changes in shoemaking technology and the changes in fashion that these bring about. There is a workshop in Tržič where Roman Zaplotnik and his father work together; they are the only ones who know how to make footwear the way it was made at the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. The project describes in detail the technology of shoe production where the sole is either sewn or attached with pegs, and how boots with wrinkled leather on the shafts (known as meksikajnarji) are made. These old techniques make up the heritage that is of great importance for preserving the identity of the people of Tržič, which is closely connected with shoemaking.
Methodology
The fieldwork was based on participant observation in the workshop of Roman Zaplotnik who makes footwear for various purposes. He was helped until recently by his father Viktor Zaplotnik. This most intensive part involved making a video recording of how two types of footwear are made: women’s laced boots and men’s meksikajnar boots. To get to know the broader context of the family and the craftsmanship, the project team had several informal conversations with Viktor Zaplotnik before filming. He told them about his life and work, including the life and work of his father, who was also a shoemaker. Viktor Zaplotnik also spoke of his schooling—he trained as a shoemaker—and showed his surviving drawings and diary from when he was at school in the middle of the 20th century. The team scanned this material and the photographs of his ancestors he had preserved, which provide additional information about what shoemakers learnt and how. They also talked to Roman Zaplotnik about his training and his work, and discovered the key things which were later focused upon when making the video recordings and taking photographs of the processes for making two different types of footwear. While preparing to record the videos, we also studied the footwear preserved in Tržič Museum and learnt about the various technical particularities that were preserved and developed in Tržič at the end of the 19th and in the 20th centuries.
Selected Assets
The following assets provide an overview of the project’s topics.
Sketches
By Viktor Zaplotnik for a shoemaking course, ca. 1957.
Workshop setting
The implements used in Roman Zaplotnik’s practice.
Making meksikajnar boots
Roman Zaplotnik and Irena Zupan Pogačnik create a traditional men’s boot.
Archival photos
Viktor Zaplotnik’s mother, father, and siblings.
Shoe repair
Their business is now primarily concerned with modern footwear.
Making symmetrical laced boots
Roman Zaplotnik and Irena Zupan Pogačnik create a traditional women’s boot.
Acknowledgements
This project would not have been possible without the time and dedication of Andreja Rauch, who handled photography, transcription, and stakeholder coordination; Andrej Lamut, who filmed and edited the video documentation; and Marko Petrović, who provided translation for the project’s textual elements.