Meet your maker: dancers and cobblers share a love affair with pointe shoes.

Pink satin and ribbons. The look of the pointe shoe has remained steady for decades. Still, designers are always searching for ways to improve its construction. Leo's Dancewear came out with a split-sole pointe shoe. Prima Soft has created the "perfect placement toe box." Components have been added to aid in noise reduction. But even with the assistance of modern machinery and materials, most pointe shoes are still entirely handmade. The process isn't easy, either. The people responsible for the shoes are highly-skilled craftsmen, injection mold specialists, or masters in…