thea
Thea Cadabra became a shoemaker more by chance than design. On leaving university in 1973 with a degree in Russian and Turkish, she craved to be in a more creative environment after her years of academia.
Thea had always enjoyed hands-on creativity and had always loved shoes. In London she apprenticed herself to a well established Turkish shoemaker, Mehmet K. Egeli, her knowledge of Turkish proving pivotal in her career path. Explaining in Turkish that she wanted to learn how to make her own shoes, Mehmet, taken aback, declared she had been sent by Allah and replied, “We’ll begin now!” Receiving one-to-one intensive tuition, Thea learnt traditional shoemaking with a master of the craft.
In 1975 Thea set up her own workshop. Winning the 1st Prize at the Crafts Council Shoe Show in 1979 gave official approval to her work, as well as wide publicity.
The following year she moved to a spacious house in the East End of London to accommodate her workshop, but here she was to witness a high level of street violence. When a stray bullet came through the window, she decided to leave England, with husband and two year old daughter, for the south of France and a more tranquil lifestyle.
No longer living in a capital city, Thea lost her client base. In the mid-eighties she joined the Bureau de Style at Charles Jourdan. From this launch into the commercial world, she later worked freelance for US companies, finally moving to the States to work full time.
Thea returned to the UK in 2004 working as a shoe design consultant. She recently decided to relaunch her own shoe label and give freedom once again to her creative spirit.
Thea continues to be passionate about shoes, and believes that ‘Wearing wonderful shoes is a truly uplifting experience.’
