Commissioned by Global Footprint, a project dedicated to celebrating the revival of Northamptonshire’s shoe-making industry, Dominic Wilcox continued his theme of looking for surprise elements within, or doing something unexpected with everyday objects and designed a pair of brogues fitted with GPS software.

Taking inspiration from the Wizard of Oz, Dominic worked with Nicholas Cooper of Stamp Shoes and interaction designer and creative media specialist, Becky Stewart to make the No Place Like Home Shoes. They works as follows: ‘After uploading your required destination to the shoes via a piece of custom made mapping software and a USB cable, the GPS, which is embedded in the heal, is activated by a heal click. It then communicates to the wearer via a ring of LED lights to point in the required direction. The shoe with the GPS wirelessly communicates with the right shoe that has a progress bar of lights to show how close you are to the destination.’ A fully functioning protoype is on display at the Variations On Normal.

We love this inventive fusing of digital and traditional craftmanship, the inherent celebration of Northamptonshire’s rich cordwainer heritage and the nod to the modern-day dandyism.