May 2026 Deadline — 20% Shoe School

Not only is making shoes a life-changing experience, but it is also a skill that has almost disappeared in New Zealand. This is about to change thanks to Shoe School, which teaches you how to make your own shoes. Hello, their name is Lou. In November 2015, they started Shoe School and moved to Wellington in 2017. Since then, they've helped students make hundreds of shoes with their own unique designs. Ten years ago, they started making shoes in Dunedin. Since they couldn't find work, they decided that this was their chance to learn how to make shoes, a skill they've been interested in since they was a teenager and had been saving up for their first pair of Doc Martens. Ten years ago, it was difficult to study shoemaking in New Zealand, so they sold some of their possessions and went to Australia to train.