NEW ORLEANS — One of the most coveted throws during Carnival season is a Muses shoe. But getting your hands on that Muses throw is rare. Nearly 30,000 hand-decorated shoes will be made by riders during the 26-float parade, but only a few are handed out each year. If you are lucky enough to get one, you can expect either a basic glitter heel or one of the more elaborate masterpieces along the parade route.
Two of the krewe members of Muses run and own NOLA Craft Culture, a craft store in Mid-City, where they create and also make decorative throws for their parade and other Carnival krewes.
Nori Pritchard and Lisette Constantin have been working day and night hand-crafting an assortment of heels for the krewe's upcoming parade.
"We do it year round," said Pritchard, a rider of Muses for almost 7 years.
They spent the better part of this year getting ready, she said while gluing a disco ball to the back of a heel.
Constantin, a member since 2007, also chimed in as she poured black glitter onto a pink boot.
"We've been calling it 'Shorty Gras' ", she said chuckling. Since Mardi Gras is short this season, people realized they didn't have as much time, Constantin said.
The Mid-City store has been open for five years, also serving as a resource for the local creative community, featuring glitter, feather boas, Mardi Gras head pieces to beautifully crafted Muses throws. Those who purchase any item(s) from the upstairs craft-store can head downstairs to work on their creations.
"You could buy a 25 cent rhinestone and come downstairs and craft all day, you can bring all of your items from home and work down here," Constantin said.
Most of the heels that come through the store are donated from friends and family or local shoe boutiques like Shoe Nami. Sometimes they are thrifted. However, shoes can be hard to find in the city Pritchard said, and she calls in favors from those out of town for the "highest heels they could find".
Pritchard and Constantin spend their own time, love, energy and money making each shoe that they will give away on the parade route.
It could take two to three hours just to paint, glitter and bejewel one shoe, and the costs are just as steep, Pritchard said.
"I think it's over a $100 a shoe at a minimum, for something super fancy. For a basic one, you're close to a dozen ($12)," she said.
Each krewe member decorates about 30 to 40 signature throws.
Constantin said she has 42 shoes in various stages of completion and parade-goers in the crowds can expect more sustainable throws this year, she said.
"I think that over the years, we've seen a real move towards trying to have more sustainable throws. Things that are not just plastic, like beads. Things like socks and beanies and gloves and lunch boxes."
"Throws that people can use and reuse," Constantin explained.
They said the best part is giving away the shoes to eager parade-goers, "That's what I look forward to all year round," Pritchard said.
"To see somebody's face when you hand them or get them the shoe, it just gets you," Constantin said.
The Krewe of Muses rolls on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 6:45 p.m. starting at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Magazine Street.
Learn more about NOLA Craft Culture here.
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