My name is Amanda Rae Long. I am an artist and designer living in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I have a passion for shoes and a background in art and received a BFA in oil painting from the University of Georgia. I am foremost a painter and produce abstract landscapes as well as paintings of vintage dresses. My newest creative endeavor revolves around the design and creation of shoes.
In 2019, I was making cole slaw to take to a friend’s house when I got distracted with this cabbage leaf, which I surprisingly crafted into a high heel shoe. I kept revisiting the idea over the years and in August 2025 I began the shoe project, which I named Garden and Sole. High heels that are made out of cabbage and embellished with botanical items such as flowers, petals, leaves and stems. I design, sketch, and pick the ingredients for the shoes, which are then meticulously hand crafted and pieced together with straight pins. I call it “Garden Couture.” The 2025 collection consisted of 16 high heel shoes, 12 of which are showcased in the 2026 Garden and Sole calendar. The project is ongoing and new shoe designs are being created with locally sourced cabbage and flowers, and a garden that will be in full bloom this summer.
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