Milly's creations with art and sole

Milly Jupp

MILLY Jupp is perhaps unique among artists in that she seeks to explore the creative possibilities of just one item – the shoe. But as she tells chief reporter Dan Phillips, these shoes are made for talking, rather than walking.

AT the age of 29, Stevenage ‘shoe artist’ Milly Jupp has managed to pack in more than most of us could contemplate during a whole lifetime. 

Former actress Milly is currently carving out a career for herself sculpting completely unique and sometimes frankly off-the-wall shoes under the name of Milly J.

Her work so far includes high-heeled creations inspired by liquorish allsorts, Alice in Wonderland, Emma Bridgewater teapots, Swan Lake and many, many more. 

But what inspired her to start making these creations?

"I lost my brother recently who was an artist," she said. "He was wonderfully talented and since then, I’ve aspired to keep that torch going."

But why shoes?

"I feel that there’s something else within a shoe that tells a story. I want to keep that story alive," she said.

"It can be a subjective thing – people ask me to tell their story through the shoes. And I’ve done that."

Winding the clock back to her birth in Jamaica, you’d be hard pressed to imagine ‘shoe artist’ would be her destiny.

At just eight months old, she was found abandoned on a bus on the island’s capital Kingston by a policeman who duly named her La Toya and gave her his own surname – Marston.

"He took me to the orphanage and my adopted parents happened to be looking around and fell in love with me!" she said. 

Later, she named myself Emily, by pointing to a list of names compiled by her mother.

Her new parents were British diplomats and she was brought up in both Jamaica and Bangladesh, but also managed to take in more than 35 other countries.

In adulthood, she came to the UK to study drama and in 2007, she graduated from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London, before making a career as a professional singer and actress.

She’s has a list of credits that includes a BBC programme called Freak Like Me, both the film and stage productions of The Ebony Box and the feature film Patient 17.

She now lives in Jessop Road, Stevenage, and has made 26 shoe sculptures since last year.

Most of them are purely created as pieces of art and not for wearing, although she does make some that can be worn.

"The sculptures are bespoke creations and if for gifts or for one, they range from £110 to £185," she said.

"But for events, shop displays and venue decor, they can be rented or bought for a bespoke price.

The bespoke Art to Wear range is a bit more, also depending on circumstances."

To find out more about Milly’s shoe sculptures visit her website www.millyjshoes.co.uk