Ushi Nagar

Ushi Nagar was a pointe shoe maker based in London, UK.  Shoe-making very much ran in his family, with both his father and grandfather in the same industry.  He started off working as a street-shoe maker, learning the basic skills from his father in East Africa, where he was born.  However, it was when he began working at Freed’s in London as an apprentice, that he acquired a passion for pointe shoes in particular.  He aspired to have his own business one day, and would collect rejected shoe models that had been thrown out, which he would experiment on, and refine his skills on, in his spare time.  In 1982 he bought a Welt machine, and having worked at Freed’s for seventeen years, he established his own pointe shoe business in 1983. 

He is skilled in all aspects of pointe shoe making, from designing to binding, and he specialises in custom work, ensuring that the right shoe is made for each dancer.  While he prefers to do a personal analysis of each dancer's feet, he is also able to work by mail from a previously worn pointe shoe of another brand, and a written description of the dancer's needs.

He had customers all over the world, including the USA, England, Israel and throughout Europe.  He continued to make pointe shoes at his base in London, and has built quite a reputation amongst professional dancers that wear his shoes.

I vaguely remember someone telling me he had stopped making shoes. If I am wrong, please let me know.