Daniel Charkow x Chantelle

Chantelle’s story

“The council spoke to me as if I was just a number or an animal.”

When Chantelle and her daughter became homeless, she felt as if no one cared. She used to leave the council office in floods of tears and struggled to secure any kind of permanent home from them.

After being pushed to breaking point, she decided to call Shelter – and it was the first time someone spoke to her like a human being:

“It made me feel warm. That one telephone call gave me comfort that was worth its weight in gold. I can’t thank Shelter enough.”

Today Chantelle is living in rented accommodation and has a greater sense of stability in her life. She’s now self-employed and working hard to build her own business.

Her daughter has even signed up to volunteer for Shelter – raising money so that anyone who’s struggling is treated with humanity, dignity and fairness.

Daniel’s inspiration

This shoe is inspired by Chantelle’s resilience, drive and independence throughout her battle with homelessness.

The gravity-defying straps suspended by magnetic force is a visual representation of the force and struggle Chantelle overcomes on a daily basis. The upper of the shoe wraps around the foot like a protective blanket portraying the warmth and comfort Shelter provided for Chantelle during her darkest days.

The shoe is completely lined with a custom designed floral print to showcase her feminine and infectious personality. All these different elements combined create a unique sculptural shoe that reflects the story of an inspiring woman, and therefore the only fitting name for the shoe is Chantelle.

Read Daniel’s blogs on the shoe development

Daniel Charkow website

Daniel Charkow Instagram

Visit Shoes Have Names at New Brewery Arts

The exhibition is open from 30th January to 2nd April at New Brewery Arts. It’s free to visit.

Support Shelter charity shops

This exhibition first appeared at a Shelter boutique in London. We wanted to connect shopping, fashion and craft to tell stories of homelessness. Whenever you pre-loved donate clothes, or buy from us you’re helping Shelter fight the housing emergency that is devastating lives.

To donate clothing and items to our charity shops via post, for free, simply download a free postage label. Or you can find your local Shelter charity shop here.

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To find out more about Shelter, click on the links below:

Shelter Website: http://england.shelter.org.uk/
Campaigning: http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns
Support us: https://england.shelter.org.uk/GetHelp
Get help: https://england.shelter.org.uk/get_help

Summer reflections

As this project moves along and the release date is creeping up, I wanted to take this time to reflect a bit on this experience. Looking back through my photos, I found this picture of me lasting the final shoe which represents Chantelle’s story. This picture was taken at the workshops of London College of Fashion right before I flew home to Canada. Though I miss the buzz of the sanding machines, the plethora of creativity, and the after hours phone calls with Chantelle discussing our designs; I was looking forward to was going home to Canada. Even though I completed the shoe for the original launch date before lockdown, I have been thinking about the importance of the home throughout the whole summer. 

Home is a place of comfort, where the air doesn’t smell foreign and where everything is always exactly where you left it. It’s a place of warmth even when the AC is blasting on the hottest days, or when the frigid winter freezes the pipes. In these past few months when the home has been the epicenter of our lives, I think about Chantelle’s experiences facing homelessness and eviction, I think about the fear she faced and the coldness of the unknown. I reflect upon the warmth Shelter brought her and the comfort a home brings. Just like a blanket, the home wraps us in security and warmth. The Chantelle shoe I created for this exhibit is made from buttery soft leather and wraps around the foot like a blanket; securing it and keeping it warm. Each part of the shoe is significant and tells Chantelle’s story. As the world continues to open, we must not forget the importance of a home and all the physical and emotional warmth it brings us.

Dan

Website

Time for reflection

While re-reading my notes about the first meeting I remembered a story Chantelle shared with everyone at our Shoes Have Names Community meet.

Chantelle was speaking about her struggle to simply get to the first meet and greet. Of course living far from central London is already a hassle and then she got to the train station and there were train issues and everything seemed to be pointing her to turn back.

She was not embarrassed or ashamed to say that she started crying: there is barely a day that goes by when she doesn’t get emotional and close to tears, she told me. About to turn back, something came upon her like a mysterious force.

She doesn’t want to go home and feel sorry for herself, instead she gets on the train and there she is in the flesh at the meeting telling everyone about this experience. Chantelle’s been through things that no one should ever have to go through. When I asked her what kept her going through the toughest times she said, the thought of independence keeps her going through anything.

She exemplifies this incredible force to fight for herself and her children with every hardship that is thrown at her. The story she shared of the struggle to get to the first meeting shows her strong will and independence. This force and will power is something truly special and something I would like to show in my designs that represents: who Chantelle is, what she’s been through, and how she keeps going.

To show this I am going to use physical forces as a metaphor to visually represent the mental strength Chantelle shows every day of her life.

Physical Forces:

• Applied Force

• Spring Force

• Drag Force

• Frictional Force

• Gravitational Force

• Magnetic Force

• Electronic Force

Many thanks

Dan Charkow

Shoes Have Names collaborator

Instagram

Reflections after meeting

Today was the first time I was able to meet Chantelle and the whole team driving the Shoes Have Names project. It was definitely a humbling experience hearing everyone’s stories and finally making a face to face connection.

Reading Chantelle’s story one thing I noticed is how she kept comparing Shelter’s work with comfort and warmth, contrasted with how she described the Council as making her feel like “a number or an animal.”

Upon meeting her today, I realize that she too is a beacon of warmth. She has such a strong and friendly heart which really evident today. She was an open book willing to share even the toughest experiences. What I didn’t realise is that Chantelle is actually still fighting homeless; it is a constant and exhausting battle.

When I asked what she wanted represented in the Chantelle Shoe, she immediately said she wanted something strong and resilient. In contrast to this, she also wanted to represent her own femininity and show how she had to change and become an even stronger woman and mother as a result of homelessness.

My first design thoughts are immediately drawn to using contrasting materials such as cold steel and vulnerable fur. It would be nice to use recycled metal scraps and maybe something that is more sustainable than fur.

Daniel Charkow

Website

Instagram