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October 2024 by Christian Gonzalez
Attending Alexandria Wills’ wallet-making workshop is an unforgettable experience, blending creativity, craftsmanship, and heartfelt connection. From the moment you step into her workshop, Alexandria makes you feel like part of her family, warmly guiding you through the intricate process of leatherwork with patience and kindness.
Her teaching goes beyond just the mechanics of hand stitching and pattern modification; she encourages you to think outside the box and push your creative boundaries to make your own template, making every project a reflection of your own uniqueness. While also having available a mountain of different sample templates you can use.
What makes Alexandria truly exceptional as a mentor is her ability to inspire her students not only in leather crafting but in dream chasing as well. Her innovative approach to design and fashion is matched by her genuine care for those she works with. She’s a role model who nurtures creativity, problem-solving, and self-expression. Her passion is infectious, and she makes sure that everyone leaves the workshop with newfound confidence and skills, but more importantly, with a sense of accomplishment.
Beyond her remarkable talent as a shoemaker and designer, Alexandria is a brilliant human being, always generous with her time and energy. She shares her shop, tools, and high-quality leathers with her students, ensuring you’re getting an authentic quality leather experience. This isn’t a big corporate business cutting corners to maximize profit—it’s a small, women-owned neighborhood shop where Alexandria goes above and beyond to make an impression. She does the most to foster creativity, pushing the envelope and ensuring that every person who walks through her door leaves with something special. It’s a space where quality, innovation, and personal connection come first, and Alexandria’s dedication to her craft and her students shines through in every detail. Just be careful because if you come to one of her workshops, you’re definitely going to want to sign up for all the other workshops she has to offer!
P.S Ask Alexandria about her and her team’s (Nigel aka HXLTmusic) creative process to literally building the walls and floors of her beautiful boutique and the colors they used!
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October 2024 by Stephanie Gonzalez
I recently had the pleasure of attending one of Alexandria Willis’ leather crafting classes, and it was an unforgettable experience!
My brother invited me last minute, and I’m so glad he did because I learned how to create my very own leather wallet something I never thought I’d do. Alexandria’s knowledge and passion for her craft truly shone through as she guided us through each step. She offered a variety of leathers and techniques, making the class not only educational but also super engaging and personal.
What really stood out was how welcoming and open Alexandria was. Her warmth made the whole experience feel less like a class and more like spending time with a friend. Plus, her incredible shoe designs at the end were the icing on the cake! I’m already looking forward to signing up for another class and telling others about my experience . This was hands down one of the best experiences I’ve had this year. Highly recommend!
Thank you Alexandria
xoxo
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May 2024 by Hardy Sykes
I have always had a passion for designing and making shoes. This is my second class with Alexandria Wills. I have learned so much and look forward to taking their more advanced courses. This is a great experience and I highly recommend checking out any of the beginning shoe making classes.
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February 2024 by Julie Hare
I attended a fantastic workshop with Alex today. She is a superb teacher and kind generous soul. We were coached through our creative experience with just enough help to keep our ideas in reach as total newbies. I thoroughly recommend
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November 2023 by Mai Yang
I have been looking into making shoes for a while now and I stumbled across Alexandria Wills shoemaking studio. She just renovated her new place and it is beautiful cute little studio. Alex is such a good teacher, I felt very welcomed, she is very affordable, very patient and just fun to be around with. I am so glad I flew all the way from Minnesota to attend Her class, it was well worth the travel. My first time making a shoe and I loved it, it’s so relaxing and I would definitely recommend her class to anyone out there.
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October 2022 by Sarah Rathbun
Making dreams come true left and right! This is where it’s at. Can I be you when I grow up????✨?☀️???????
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September 2022 by Monet Whirl
I booked a private Sneaker Customization workshop with Alexandria for my son and fiancé’s birthdays. Neither of them were sure what to expect in the beginning but by the end they had so much fun and loved the experience.Alexandria is a wonderful teacher and is so thorough, I was able to witness her in action while my daughter and I waited. She was patient and engaging and so attentive to them both. She led them through the process, but let them have complete creative freedom. Their custom AF1s turned out so amazing.This workshop definitely sparked a flame for them both. I foresee many more visits to her studio in the future!Edited to add: the workshop I was looking for was not originally listed on her website. I reached out to her about it and she was totally accommodating. We communicated back and forth for almost a month and Alexandria was always pleasant to speak to. The workshop was EVERYTHING I was hoping for and then some!
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August 2022 by Vivian Grace Ostan
Learning and working with Alexandria was fantastic. She is a patient, kind and encouraging instructor. The laid back atmosphere, non rushed pace, step by step process was great. I liked how we worked as a team, cutting and gluing together. This is the first shoemaking class I have taken where the instructor wants me to finish my project and not just teach me the process. So when something was too difficult, Alexandria would step in and help out. So thank you! I really loved everything about my 3-day advanced sneaker making workshop and cannot wait to return to take another class.
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February 2022 by The Maxwells
I came to Alexandria’s studio for a workshop and brought the shoes she made for me years ago that I have been wearing every day since. I have a persimmon tree in my backyard and it had gotten all over the shoes (but I didn’t mind because they were still the cutest, most comfortable shoes I own!)Alexandria took one look at the shoes and began taking them apart, she washed all of the leather, cut new soles for them, applied new heels, new memory foam, new shoe sock lining with her beautiful gold logo and essentially made me an entirely new shoe!
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February 2022 by Ruby June
I have been teaching myself to make shoes on the west coast with Alex’s guidance and have dreamed of visiting her studio for years now!I can’t believe I didn’t go sooner, her studio alone is worth a trip to Chicago.She taught me more in 3 days than I could’ve possibly learned in 3 months otherwise. I had a pretty ambitious project I was working on and she took it in stride, helping me bring it to life in ways I never dreamed possible.Alex is the most patient, kind, encouraging teacher. She shows you how to make shoes but also gives you a safe space to experiment and learn without worrying about messing up. This experience honestly felt life changing and I couldn’t put a price on what it meant to me!I will definitely be back and sending everyone I know to experience a little bit of Alex’s magic!!
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November 2021 by William Jarvis
Took a class here to learn how to make shoes. Learned a great skill and surprisingly had a ton of fun spending my Saturday this way. Great to work with your hands and have something to show for it.
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October 2021 by Naomi Robinson
I made my first ever pair of shoes with the help of Alexandria. I really enjoyed the class, Alexandria made the class exceptional with her patience, energy and expertise in shoe making. I will definitely be attending another class.
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September 2021 by Trevor Grant
We took a private one day workshop to make shoes and had an amazing time. Alexandria is a great teacher and super helpful. We learned lots about the shoe making process and industry, as well as how much better for our feet custom footwear is. The workshop is an amazing deal as its both and epic Dabble and a new pair of shoes. 7/5 stars, would recommend to a friend.
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September 2021 by Geoff Pedrick
I had a fantastic time taking both shoe workshops and love the shoes I got from them. The lessons I learned from the first workshop definitely helped me feel comfortable with the more complex shoe I made in the second one. Alexandria gave me a great amount of guidance and support but let me do all the actual work...except those times I slipped up and she came in to save my shoes so I can be proud of wearing them in public. She also made me feel very comfortable in the space during COVID. All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I'm quite pleased with both the shoes and the skills I learned!
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September 2021 by Brittany Bodziak
I had this workshop bookmarked on my computer for months before I actually took the step outside my comfort zone and purchased the Level 1 course. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. There is nothing like spending a day building something beautiful with your own hands. I feel so lucky to have someone as talented as Alexandria share her passion with me. I will most definitely be back for another workshop!
