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Toronto shoemaker crafting custom footwear for Hollywood’s biggest hits

Published

5 years ago

January 2, 2020

You’ve likely seen Jeff Churchill’s handiwork all over big and little screens, or perhaps at a musical or ballet. Maybe even during a live show in Las Vegas or Macao or Sydney.

From his fourth-floor workshop in a century-old factory space in Parkdale, Churchill designs and crafts some of the most exclusive bespoke footwear in the world.

His innovative creations have the biggest forces in entertainment coming back again and again, from Hollywood studios to Cirque du Soleil.

This year alone, Churchill and his team made shoes and boots for four of the five films nominated for best motion picture (musical or comedy) at the upcoming 2020 Golden Globes: Rocketman; Jojo Rabbit; Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Dolemite is my name.

Actor Taron Egerton — playing Elton John in the film Rocketman — wearing shoes designed and made at Jitterbug Boy in Toronto. Elton John was so taken with the various shoes and boots for the film that he asked for his own personal pair. (David Appleby/Paramount)

They’ve also worked on a laundry list of other big-name films, including Marvel blockbusters like Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Ragnorok and the Oscar-winners The Shape of Water and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

He’s even made boots for a personal hero, American musician and actor Tom Waits, to wear in the film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Churchill is such a big fan of the acclaimed songwriter that he named his shoemaking company after Waits’ 1976 song Jitterbug Boy.

He’s a bit blasé about what seem, to any reasonable observer, like impressive accomplishments.

“Seeing our stuff on the screen is great, but it’s just a bonus really,” Churchill said in his workshop. “Developing something that has never existed before in the world — that’s the addiction for me.”

Jeff Churchill says he hasn’t bought a new pair of shoes in at least 15 years. (Lucas Powers/CBC)

The 45-year-old started Jitterbug Boy nearly 15 years ago, when it was just him in a small studio in a building that no longer stands.

Now he has a team of about 20, working at a break-neck pace to produce footwear for between 50 and 60 films each year. On top of that, there are the shoes and boots for television, live performances, and even for theme parks.

“Everything is made here, in Parkdale, completely by hand for shows literally all over the world,” he said.

The team works with a kind of synergy as they navigate the busy workshop. (Paul Borkwood/CBC)

Churchill’s professional background is in theatre set and costume design, experiences that he says helped him develop the shrewd aesthetic and creativity he now brings to this pursuit.

And it’s a good thing — the workshop often finds itself pushing the limits on design, under tight deadlines for unforgiving clients in far-away places.

“A lot of the time, you have one chance to knock it out of the park. That’s because the actors need to put the shoes on and say, ‘Yep.’ And then do their thing,” he said.

The workshop is filled with foot molds made for famous people. (Lucas Powers/CBC)

“We have to anticipate all kinds of problems that the actors may encounter before each pair of shoes or boots goes out the door.”

He sees three basic challenges when making footwear for the arts: working effectively with a costume designer; ensuring actors are comfortable for long days on set; and, as Churchill describes it, “the more technical aspect.”

“They’ll say, ‘OK, we’ve got to have these really nice dress shoes made for this actor. And, oh yeah, he’s got to hang on the outside of a plane at 5,000 feet,'” he said laughing. “And they need it in three weeks.”

Churchill says his crew typically has between 15 and 18 projects on the go at once for customers from film, television (Lucas Powers/CBC)

It’s an allusion to a real life example. Churchill and his team made shoes for Tom Cruise to wear in the 2015 film Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. In one memorable action sequence, Cruise dangles off the side of a military cargo plane several thousand feet in the air as he tries to sneak his way into the fuselage.

Churchill credits his team for the workshop’s ability to turn out thousands of pairs of shoes, boots and everything in between every year.

Many of the employees at Jitterbug Boy started in the design world. (Lucas Powers/CBC)

He estimates that each pair takes at least 20 to 30 hours to make, and some take much longer. They start at about $950 per pair, up to a few thousand dollars.

Most of Jitterbug’s staff did not begin with any experience cobbling shoes. Many come from the design world and learned the craft over time.

Churchill estimates that he and his team have made about 15,000 pairs of shoes so far. (Lucas Powers/CBC)

“Fortunately I have a kick-ass team in here who can take everything and just fly with it, because it’s constant pressure and it’s not easy,” he told CBC Toronto, adding that there’s often no “prototype” they can work from.

“We’re reinventing the wheel 20 times a week, from the perspective of how to make shoes.”

Almost every possible space in the workshop gets used. (Lucas Powers/CBC)

Sometimes, after all the work, Jitterbug Boy’s shoes are almost entirely cut from a film before its final release. But that’s just part of the gig, Churchill said.

Despite the workshop’s success, he has no immediate plans to make shoes for retail.

“I prefer being hands on, creating something for a person,” Churchill said. “I want to make shoes, and I want to send something out the door that I’m passionate about.”

The team works out in a shop on the top story of an old factory in Parkdale. (Lucas Powers/CBC)

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Langford, Heim lead Rangers to wild 13-8 win over Blue Jays

Published

9 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rookie Wyatt Langford homered, doubled twice and became the first Texas player this season to reach base five times, struggling Jonah Heim delivered a two-run single to break a sixth-inning tie and the Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 13-8 on Tuesday night.

Leody Taveras also had a homer among his three hits for the Rangers.

Langford, who also walked twice, has 12 homers and 25 doubles this season. He is hitting .345 in September.

“I think it’s really important to finish on a strong note,” Langford said. “I’m just going to keep trying to do that.”

Heim was 1-for-34 in September before he lined a single to right field off Tommy Nance (0-2) to score Adolis García and Nathaniel Lowe, giving Texas a 9-7 lead. Heim went to the plate hitting .212 with 53 RBIs after being voted an All-Star starter last season with a career-best 95 RBIs. He added a double in the eighth ahead of Taveras’ homer during a three-run inning.

Texas had 13 hits and left 13 men on. It was the Rangers’ highest-scoring game since a 15-8 win at Oakland on May 7.

Matt Festa (5-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win, giving him a 5-0 record in 13 appearances with the Rangers after being granted free agency by the New York Mets on July 7.

Nathan Eovaldi, a star of Texas’ 2023 run to the franchise’s first World Series championship, had his worst start of the year in what could have been his final home start with the Rangers. Eovaldi, who will be a free agent next season, allowed 11 hits (the most of his two seasons with Texas) and seven runs (tied for the most).

“I felt like early in the game they just had a few hits that found the holes, a few first-pitch base hits,” said Eovaldi, who is vested for a $20 million player option with Texas for 2025. “I think at the end of the day I just need to do a better job of executing my pitches.”

Eovaldi took a 7-3 lead into the fifth inning after the Rangers scored five unearned runs in the fourth. The Jays then scored four runs to knock out Eovaldi after 4 2/3 innings.

Six of the seven runs scored against Toronto starter Chris Bassitt in 3 2/3 innings were unearned. Bassitt had a throwing error during Texas’ two-run third inning.

“We didn’t help ourselves defensively, taking care of the ball to secure some outs,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.

The Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a double and two singles, his most hits in a game since having four on Sept. 3. Guerrero is hitting .384 since the All-Star break.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette (calf) was activated and played for the first time since July 19, going 2 for 5 with an RBI. … OF Daulton Varsho (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day injured list and will have rotator cuff surgery … INF Will Wagner (knee inflammation) was placed on the 60-day list.

UP NEXT

Rangers: LHP Chad Bradford (5-3, 3.97 ERA) will pitch Wednesday night’s game on extended five days’ rest after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and home runs (three) in 3 2/3 innings losing at Arizona on Sept. 14.

Blue Jays: RHP Bowden Francis (8-4, 3.50) has had two no-hitters get away in the ninth inning this season, including in his previous start against the New York Mets on Sept. 11. Francis is the first major-leaguer to have that happen since Rangers Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in 1989.

—

AP MLB:

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Billie Jean King set to earn another honor with the Congressional Gold Medal

Published

10 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

WASHINGTON (AP) — Billie Jean King will become the first individual female athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey announced Tuesday that their bipartisan legislation had passed the House of Representatives and would be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.

The bill to honor King, the tennis Hall of Famer and activist, had already passed unanimously in the Senate.

Sherrill, a Democrat, said in a statement that King’s “lifetime of advocacy and hard work changed the landscape for women and girls on the court, in the classroom, and the workplace.”

The bill was introduced last September on the 50th anniversary of King’s victory over Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes,” still the most-watched tennis match of all-time. The medal, awarded by Congress for distinguished achievements and contributions to society, has previously been given to athletes including baseball players Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente, and golfers Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer.

King had already been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican, says she has “broken barriers, led uncharted paths, and inspired countless people to stand proudly with courage and conviction in the fight for what is right.”

___

AP tennis:

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Account tweaks for young Instagram users ‘minimum’ expected by B.C., David Eby says

Published

10 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

SURREY, B.C. – Premier David Eby says new account control measures for young Instagram users introduced Tuesday by social media giant Meta are the “minimum” expected of tech companies to keep kids safe online.

The parent company of Instagram says users in Canada and elsewhere under 18 will have their accounts set to private by default starting Tuesday, restricting who can send messages, among other parental controls and settings.

Speaking at an unrelated event Tuesday, Eby says the province began talks with social media companies after threatening legislation that would put big tech companies on the hook for “significant potential damages” if they were found negligent in failing to keep kids safe from online predators.

Eby says the case of Carson Cleland, a 12-year-old from Prince George, B.C., who took his own life last year after being targeted by a predator on Snapchat, was “horrific and totally preventable.”

He says social media apps are “nothing special,” and should be held to the same child safety standards as anyone who operates a place that invites young people, whether it’s an amusement park, a playground or an online platform.

In a progress report released Tuesday about the province’s engagement with big tech companies including Google, Meta, TikTok, Spapchat and X, formerly known as Twitter, the provincial government says the companies are implementing changes, including a “trusted flagger” option to quickly remove intimate images.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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