Stay in Motion: My CanvasRebel Conversation

A reflection on my conversation with CanvasRebel, originally published May 13, 2026. Read the full interview: Meet Baker Bezalel.

If I could go back to the beginning of ShoeBaker, I would give myself more room to make mistakes.

I spent too much time trying to get everything right before I had enough experience to know what right looked like. What moved me forward was making more pairs, testing more ideas, and paying attention when something didn’t work.

In my CanvasRebel conversation, I talked about that learning process, the pressure behind the finished work, and why creativity has to reach beyond the shoe.

Curiosity came first

Before there was a brand, I was looking at people’s shoes and imagining what I would change. During lockdown, I started putting those ideas into practice. One pair gave me a reason to make the next.

The name ShoeBaker grew out of the way I worked. Heat, pressure, timing, and attention to detail. You have to give the process room to happen.

Learn the material. Keep the notes.

Leather, mesh, rubber, and acrylic all ask something different of you. The idea matters, but so does understanding the surface in front of you. Paint can react differently than expected. An engraving can go too deep. You have to notice, adjust, and learn.

I wish I had documented more from the start: settings, mixtures, experiments, and mistakes. That record helps you understand why something worked so you can make better decisions the next time.

Design also takes restraint. Knowing where to place a detail matters. So does knowing when the piece has enough.

Stay with the difficult middle

One of my early bigger brand opportunities put that lesson to the test. I was between workspaces, balancing orders and family responsibilities, and working toward a tight deadline. Halfway through, the design wasn’t coming together.

I kept working, but I changed the approach. I stripped things back and removed a detail I had spent time building. Letting it go helped the rest of the shoe make sense.

That experience stayed with me. The point where a project looks wrong can feel final. Sometimes it is the point where you need to pay closer attention, simplify, and keep going.

Give the idea somewhere to go

Custom footwear gives people a way to wear something connected to their own story. The display, the presentation, and the experience around a pair are part of that work too.

In workshops, I get to see another side of it: someone realizes they can take an idea and make it real. That confidence matters to me. I want creators to understand their decisions and trust their ability to figure things out.

That is what keeps me creating, experimenting, and teaching.

Stay in motion.

Read my full interview on CanvasRebel for more on the process, the setbacks, and the mission behind ShoeBaker.