By CASEY NEILL
A DANDENONG North man has dedicated his new miniature shoe collection record to his late mum.
Wilson Fernandez started collecting the miniatures during a trip to India about 10 years ago.
He now has more than 1000 and is listed in Limca Book of Records (LBR) for 2016.
“I had a mixed feeling when the record news came through,” Mr Fernandez said.
“It is a great honour to achieve this award. I just couldn’t believe it.
“But at the same time, my heart shattered as my dearest mum passed away.
“I didn’t get the opportunity to share the joy of this achievement with mum.
“So, I dedicated this achievement as a tribute to my mum for the love, encouragement, support and for making me the person that I am today.”
Mr Fernandez said his dad was proud of the award, and thanked the family and friends who’d helped him to achieve “this hallmark of my life”.
“I am proud of it and regardless of this award, my collection of miniature shoes will continue to grow.”
Mr Fernandez’s first miniature shoe purchase was “small leather sandals in miniature sizes that replicated the big ones exactly”.
“They were called Kolhapuri Chappal. I was so amazed to look at the details and the craftsmanship of these miniatures,” he said.
Mr Fernandez bought the jar filled with 12 shoes but forgot about them upon his return home.
His wife found them a year later.
“She handed it to me with a look and reminded me of the day I was so carried away with those miniature shoes,” he said.
“Over the years, during my business and pleasure travels to new places, I started looking for shoes that represent the countries and places I visited.”
The smallest pair is about three by five millimetres in size. Mr Fernandez displays the shoes on his living room wall.
“The wall of great miniature shoes reminds me of the places visited, the best moments of those places, the culture, diversity, friendship and more,” he said.
