THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR THINKING AND... WALKING TOO :)

Boots featuring upcycled italian vintage shawl with regal pattern
 in black / gold / Ferrari red

Can you make a pair of sturdy boots with a flouncy 50-year-old ball gown? Or stilettos out of vintage carpet? You can, if you are a talented designer that go by the name Anna Zaboeva — shoe designer/founder of Pleasemachine Style Lab

This spunky designer handcrafts gorgeous artisanal footwear, because she wants you to contemplate your contribution to the environment. "Are you adding to the colossal waste that is swallowing the world or are you being a responsible citizen of this world?" she asks. The footwear is sold under the banner Pleasemachine, founded by Zaboeva. Pleasemachine is based on the concept of sustainable living by recycling or up-cycling discarded materials. Each shoe has a unique character.


Born in East Siberia in erstwhile USSR, where her parents (a geologist father and telephone mechanic mother) went to build a town called Ust-Ilimsk, Zaboeva grew up in a household where recycling was a necessity. She remembers making a bunch of accessories out of blood infusion pipes when she was admitted to a local hospital for a brief period.

Recycled textile plus leather boots

At 16, Zaboeva went to study "light industry engineering" in Novosibirsk University, but discovered a passion for "visual works". She discontinued her engineering course — just before final exams — to attend a "cameraman course" and began exploring the world of documentary films. The journey eventually brought her to Budapest, Hungary as part of a young filmmakers' workshop. She decided to stay in Europe to pursue her dreams. When in 2007 she won a scholarship to study at the University of Applied Arts and design, she chose to study about leather. By the end of the academic year Zaboeva was making basic footwear — "flat sandals and shoes of cemented construction" — but she was hooked on to shoemaking; a trade that would later become a tool to promote ideas of conservation and sustainability. 

"When I came to Europe I witnessed tremendous household waste," she says. "I noticed the growing irrationality of mass market consumption and lack of choice for those who were aware of its short and long term effects." 

In Europe Zaboeva encountered huge piles of discarded clothing and home furnishings in dumpsters. She began collecting cast-off materials — vintage carpets, colourful nylon dresses with funky patterns, upholsteries. She was addicted to dumpster diving.

Recyled vintage fabric

"It was an abundant source of material supply," she says. "You never knew what you'll find in it, and it was fun to dig dumpsters with friends." Over the years Zaboeva's collection pile kept growing in size. And she says, she knew she was going to use them in making shoes. She made her first pair — flat sandals with leather soles — out of a vintage nylon dress. Shoes made out of recycled material became a good medium to communicate her ideas about the environment and conservation. By 2008 her shoes made out of shelved textiles sold right off the shelves at lightning speed. 

Zaboeva's passion for filmmaking has led her to record the 'before and after' history of the shoes that she creates. "It is a great storytelling tool and the shoes are only a part of a long story of transformation of an object. I think people want to participate in this process of sustainability and conservation much beyond just being consumers of these shoes; keeping a visual diary of the process of recycling gives them something to relate to. And hopefully reconsider their decisions about wastage." 

It takes Zaboeva anywhere between a week to two months to make a pair of shoes. Once a shoe is made, she detaches herself from it. "It goes on to live its own life," she says.  Zaboeva's creations are inspired by being in the moment and the oddities of this world. And she prefers "spontaneous designs that praise chance and randomness". And her boots...they are made for thinking!