Christy asked for some details on Avanta's ordering/skate-making process. Mine is a little different because I had specific problems I wanted them to fix and because of who my skate tech is, but here's how it went for me.
In early January, I sent a paragraphs-long email describing my previous boot woes and included a bulleted list of all the ways in which my feet are unusual and what I thought needed to be done to make boots work for them. I also sent pictures of the ways in which I'd had to modify previous boots (using sponges to create a channel down the tongue for a high/sensitive instep, skipping lace holes, building up the arch, padding the heels, punching the everloving crap out of the toe box). I asked if they thought they could make something that would work for me.
Will called me very quickly (on his vacation!), and said he thought he could make me an "orthopedic" pair of boots. He requested photos of my feet (both bare and in skates) and an STS cast of my feet. He said the more information he could get, the better it would be. So I sent about a hundred photos: Bare feet from front, back, left, and right, including standing on both feet, standing on each foot individually, and standing on both feet together and individually while bending the knee/leaning forward a bit (classic "being fitted for skates" posture); all of the above angles/positions in both the broken down pair of Jacksons that mostly fit and the SP-Teri customs that never fit; the Jackson insoles; and because I have a hip height discrepancy, I also sent a couple of full-body shots to demonstrate that.
Bill Fauver, who used to head up Avanta (or was involved in some high-level way) happens to be my skate tech and sometimes coach, and has been immensely helpful throughout this whole saga. He had some
STS casting socks, and we made casts of my feet. I think if you don't have someone like that near you, Avanta will send you the socks and you can have a podiatrist do it. The casting process is pretty cool; it's literally a gym sock that's been impregnated with what feels like papier mache, and the person doing it soaks it in water and then carefully rolls it up your foot/leg. You wear plastic bags on your feet to keep the stuff off your skin. Then you stand up on a piece of foam to be sure it captures the contours of your feet and not the floor, and they harden in about five minutes. The person helping you cuts them off and you have a sculpture of your feet!
We also did the usual measurements and sent them along with the cast. This was also the point where I got to choose things like low-cut back, the kind of finish on the soles, strength, etc. At Bill's suggestion, I went to a local running store and got a
3D scan of my feet to send as well. (This isn't mandatory, obviously.)
I sent in the casts around the middle of January, and received the boots on March 18. Will said their turnaround time is usually a bit shorter than that, but because they were just getting back from the holidays when I ordered, and because my feet are "very, very unique," it took me longer.
Will was very helpful throughout the whole process; we spoke on the phone several times, and spent a long time discussing what exactly about my previous boots was causing problems, weird things about my feet that needed to be accommodated, my skating, etc. I felt like he was really listening to what was wrong and thinking about ways to fix it. I know he and Bill also spoke and emailed about me and my skates. I was very pleased with everything.
P.S. The boots are all $1200, no matter what you get done to them. I don't believe they sell stock boots anymore, just customs.