Domestika Course Review – Design and Make Espadrille Sandals

Acquiring a new crafty skill is always exciting for crafters like me. Recently, I decided to step my toes into the world of making footwear by enrolling in the Domestika course on designing and making espadrille sandals.

Overview of Domestika:

Domestika, a platform known for its diverse array of classes, offers a variety of courses in art, design, craft, etc. Each course priced around $10 after discount, all their courses are on sale quite often. 

Alternatively, you could choose the subscription option, priced at $7 a month, which provides access to their entire course library. 

I have seen some ads of their platform and courses on Instagram for a while and was quite lured by the content of the course trailers, so I’ve finally decided to purchase a course and give it a try!

Course content:

The “Design and Make Espadrille Sandals” course, just like other courses on Domestika, is taught by an expert in the field. The instructor’s name is ​​Isabel Río, and has founded her own shoe brand called Antonia’s.

The entire course spans over 18 lessons, with each lesson between 4-20 mins, so the total video duration is around 4 hours. If you consider the cost of the course is under $10, it is a pretty good deal given how much video content you’ll get in the course!

While comprehensive, please note the emphasis on a singular style of espadrilles – the loafer shoes style, which I’ll elaborate more later in the post.

The platform has an active community which I think is quite nice. I see other students showcasing their work, serving as both inspiration and testament to creative possibilities with espadrilles making. Btw, some of the students’ work so pretty impressive that they encourage me to try new ways to make espadrille!

My Domestika course learning experience

Pros:

The course covers diverse aspects of making espadrilles, from history and inspiration to fabric manipulation and sewing. 

The structured approach, moving from understanding the context to hands on shoe making, offers a holistic understanding of the art of espadrille making, and guide students into a comprehensive journey of espadrilles making with depth step by step. 

I’ve definitely learnt more about espadrilles than I had originally anticipated!

Cons:

While the course aimed for comprehensiveness, it does lingered on non-essential topics for too long, such as building a moodboard. I found myself fast-forwarding at 1.25x – 1.5x speed while watching, so definitely wish for more focus on the core elements and make the course faster to consume.

Another problem for me is the absence of coverage on espadrilles variations. Unfortunately, the course only teach one style of espadrilles – the loafer. As someone eager to explore sandals or strapped styles, this felt like a missed opportunity. I was left wanting more variety.

A significant drawback, especially for non-Spanish speakers, was the language barrier. The course was conducted in Spanish, with English subtitles. Reading subtitles for a 4-hour duration felt cumbersome, impacting the overall learning experience. For my next Domestika endeavor, I’m leaning towards an English-language course to eliminate this hurdle.

My Domestika course project experience

Within a day, I managed to create a pair of espadrille loafers. I sourced both the sole and fabric from Etsy, which was affordable. And the process was engaging and fun, taking a few hours to complete. However, the extensive hand-sewing part is a bit physically taxing as you need to thread your needle through the soles many times..

I was so thrilled to wear my finished espadrilles! Initial there was a tiny bit of discomfort, due to the fabric raw edges folded inside the shoe. But after I wore them for a few times, the fabric softened, and I don’t feel the raw edge any more! It is definitely one of my most comfy shoes!

Beyond the excitement of making shoes for the first time and get to wear them day to day, this project did open a gateway to a deeper understanding of the shoe-making process for me. 

Eventually I want to be able to make my own leather shoes, and this espadrille experience serves as a precursor—a taste of what’s to come.

Final Thoughts:

In conclusion, this Domestika course was a valuable learning experience considering the price point, and it does offer a comprehensive dive into espadrille design and making. 

While there were some limitations, notably in lack of style variations and language barrier, the course did achieve its primary goal — equipping me with the skills to create a comfortable and stylish pair of espadrilles. 

In the end, I’m happy I took this class, as the journey not only taught me how to design and make my own espadrilles, but also moved me closer to my goal of understanding shoemaking and eventually making more complicated shoes.

Have you taken this course before or any other Domestika course? I’d love to hear about your experience!

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