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About This Site
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Who'd have thought there was so much technical knowledge and creativity tied up in shoelaces? Most people
figure they learned all they needed to know about shoelaces in kindergarten! Ian's Shoelace
Site contains all sorts of shoelace information, some of it useful, some just for fun. If you wear shoes with
laces (or anything else that does up with laces), you're bound to find something here that they don't teach
in kindergarten.
Read on to find out more about how this site came to be, what it's about, who it's for, who made it, and how I'm
trying to keep it going.
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Site History
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Inspiration:
Ian's Shoelace Site first came about because of the innocent perception of shoelaces,
which most people regarded as "kindergarten knowledge". Because of this, no-one had bothered to publish any
serious information about them, which I discovered first hand when I searched the Internet on the topic.
May-2000:
As discussed in more detail on my Ian Knot History page, I began by adding a
single shoelace page to my existing web site. This contained my Ian Knot, the World's
Fastest Shoelace Knot, plus the two other most common shoelace knots for comparison.
2003:
In the next major change, I expanded that single page into a multi-paged "Ian's Shoelace Site". This provided the
framework into which I added other known Shoelace Knots, Lacing
Methods and other related info.
Dec-2005:
After five years of providing the site free of charge and free of advertising, the site's layout was changed to
create space into which sponsors' advertisements could be included. Hopefully this will allow me to continue
providing this site freely for the thousands of daily visitors despite the steadily rising hosting costs.
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Site Content
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What Sort Of Site?
This site is not a commercial site! I'm not selling shoelaces or footwear or anything else. It's basically
a hobby site, through which I'm trying to contribute something worthwhile to the Internet.
What Sort Of Content Does It Contain?
Most of this site's content could be considered "Educational", "Instructional", or "Self-Help". It's a mixture of
traditional knowledge and original concepts, some of it well known, some of it quite obscure.
Where Has The Content Come From?
Much of the content has been compiled through years of research in libraries, magazines and over the Internet. Some
of it (such as my own knots and numerous lacing patterns) have been invented by myself, though sometimes these have
turned out to be be re-inventions of existing lesser-known methods. I have drawn most of the diagrams, taken most
of the photographs, given names to many of the knots and lacing patterns or chosen the most appropriate names when
there has been more than one conflicting name. Many other ideas and suggestions are due to
Feedback from site visitors, who have also contributed numerous methods, tips and photos.
Is The Content "Kid Safe"?
Whilst my site is not specifically targeted at kids and therefore contains fairly difficult words, I believe that
all the content of my shoelace site is safe for kids. In other words, it's partly "Kid Friendly", but totally
"Kid Safe". It contains no coarse language, contains no "adult references", is non-explicit, is not defamatory or
offensive - you get the general idea! I'm not infallible, so please Contact Me if you
find anything that you consider would best be changed or removed to make this site more "Kid Safe".
Who Owns The Content?
The contents of this site are Copyright © 2000-2007 by Ian W. Fieggen. I reserve
the rights to all content, including writing, text, images, sounds, videos, coding, programming, scripts, etc.
contained on this site.
Who Can Re-Use The Content?
Generally, I'm pretty agreeable to others passing on this knowledge by using portions of the content of this site
provided that you simply credit Ian's Shoelace Site as the source or or myself (Ian
Fieggen) as the author. Obviously, you're welcome to print a page or two from this site to show to someone else!
Should you wish to reproduce or otherwise make use of portions in your own derivative works, such as in books,
magazines, etc, please Contact Me first to obtain written permission. For example, many
people have been given permission to use my shoelace knot diagrams rather than drawing their own.
What About Linking To The Content?
Should you wish to link from your own web page to either specific content or pages of this site, please see
This Page, which gives details on Why to Link, How to Link, How NOT to Link,
Where to Link, Reciprocal Links, etc.
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Site Visitors
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If you still reckon Ian's Shoelace Site is all a bit frivolous, then smile and move on to
give others a chance. This site currently receives around 8,000 to 10,000 daily visitors from all over the world,
with peaks of almost 40,000. It seems that all sorts of people are looking for this information:
- Fashion conscious shoe enthusiasts looking for creative lacing methods.
- Parents & teachers looking for early learning materials.
- Kids looking for alternatives, better explanations or additional guidance.
- Adults looking for self-help, either through having never learned to tie their shoes correctly as a child or due to
increasing infirmity.
- Occupational therapists looking for alternative knots to suit different learning styles.
- Academics & lateral thinkers looking for more efficient methods.
- Knot enthusiasts & Scout masters looking for a reference on shoelace knots.
- Sportspeople looking for specific solutions or a competitive edge.
- Anyone looking for technical advice (eg. shoelace lengths).
In other words, Ian's Shoelace Site is for everyone - men and women, young and old, able bodied and handicapped,
with all sorts of backgrounds and from all over the world.
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Site Prominence
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Ian's Shoelace Site is now the Number 1 ranked shoelace site in all major search engines
(Google, Yahoo!, AltaVista, MSN, DMOZ, etc). A search for "shoelace" in any major search engine will return
hundreds of thousands (even millions) of results, with one or more pages from "Ian's Shoelace Site" invariably
topping the list.
Ian's Shoelace Site has been linked to by tens of thousands of other web sites, appears prominently in reference
listings, has been featured on the Australian national television program A Current Affair, in prestigious
newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, magazines
such as Sneaker Freaker, Esquire, GQ, Peace, even Russian Popular Mechanics, radio stations such as ABC Radio, and
is discussed world-wide on countless forums and blogs.
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What Others Are Saying
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"He calls himself Professor Shoelace, and yes, he is a world wide authority on the tying of shoelaces."
Brady Halls, A Current Affair (Australia), 21-Mar-2008
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"But Fieggen's also got an amazing website on which he shares how-tos and other great tips, like how to avoid the
"Granny Knot" (a knot that always seems to come undone)."
Taryn Jedlicka, goodyblog.com (USA), 19-Oct-2007 (site for Parents magazine)
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"Shoelace purists - and you know who you are - will be pleased to know that all the flyest methods, from the Double
Helix to the Checkerboard to the Spider Web ... (plus 100s more), are included, with illustrations."
Ben Goldstein, men.style.com (USA), 17-Oct-2007 (site for DETAILS and GQ magazines)
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"Ian wasn't on the Web from the very beginning, but he found his way there pretty fast. He pitched his first page
online in 2000. In 2003, he expanded to a full-fledged website. Now, seven years later, he continues to build and
polish what has become one of the world's foremost collections of information, advice, and trivia about shoelaces."
Yahoo! Picks Profiles (USA), 10-Oct-2007
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"Dabei schlummert hier ein ungeahntes Potential für modische Abwechslung. Ein kleiner Streifzug durch die
Schnürsenkelkunde."
(Translation): "Here's an unrealised potential for fashion variations. A short stroll through the world of
shoelaces."
Jochen Reinecke, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany), 17-Jun-2007
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"He's Knot Crazy."
"Meet Ian Fieggen, the world's preeminent shoelace expert."
James Carlson, Esquire.com, 05-Apr-2007
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"After analyzing his daily shoelace routine, prompted by a 1982 broken-lace incident, Mr. Fieggen uncovered what he
believes is the fastest method for tying laces. Ian's Shoelace Site is the comprehensive online resource born out
of that quarter-century-old epiphany."
Aaron Rutkoff, The Wall Street Journal, 06-Feb-2007
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"Yet I am still endlessly fascinated by Ian's Shoelace Site, an astonishing repository of all that you could ever
want to know about said topic."
Wook Kim, Entertainment Weekly, 25-Jan-2007
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"I went back and visited Ian’s site several times and it took me a while to understand why I found this site so
interesting and compelling. It wasn’t because I was fascinated by knots or shoelaces. I finally decided that what I
love about this site is it is an excellent example of instructional design. It is excellent because Ian offers his
instruction in several different ways to appeal to people with different learning styles."
Luanne Seymour (Adobe senior instructional designer), Adobe Design Center, 18-Oct-2006
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"Recently however, we were introduced to Ian Fieggen (aka Professor Shoelace) and were humbled by his academic
knowledge of this black art. The prof has created, without doubt, the best shoelace website in the universe."
Simon Woods (aka Woody), Sneaker Freaker Magazine, Issue 8, 27-Jul-2006
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"Ian's Shoelace Site ... is the Internet's foremost resource for shoelace information, and most importantly,
knot-tying techniques. The shoe-wearing world is better for it."
Christopher Hutsul, The Toronto Star (Canada), 09-Apr-2006
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"The only shoelace tying resource you'll ever need."
Phillip Torrone, Make Magazine blog, 05-Apr-2006
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"... his Web site devoted to untangling the singular subject of shoelaces. And how:"
Justin Rude, Washington Post (USA), 21-Aug-2005
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"This should be on the national curriculum, all parents should know the secret. I want it broadcast on TV. Who said
everything you need to know, you learn in kindergarten? Only if your teacher has discovered Ian's Shoelace Site."
Liz Todd, The Guardian (UK), 05-Apr-2005
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"While the subject matter may seem mundane, Ian's obvious enthusiasm for knots and laces makes this site an
absolute kick."
Yahoo! Pick, 20-Mar-2004, plus a
Yahoo! Top Picks of 2004
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"Proprietor Ian has an interesting, super-simple method for tying shoes, but if it's complexity you're after, he
knows lots of ways to get yourself all knotted up."
Hot Site, USA Today, 15-Mar-2004
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This page last updated: 08-May-2008. Copyright © 2005-2008 by
Ian W. Fieggen. All rights reserved.
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| World's Number 1 |
Ranked No. 1 Shoelace Site
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