#37 - Cobbler

It's a lost art, right? It's at least dying. Or is it? Apparently not.

The economy has been generally shit for the last year and a half or so, in case you just emerged from your cave. That has globally impacted everything, primarily the job and housing markets. So aside from hedge fund guys and foreclosure vultures, who else has actually been doing well during "these tough economic times"? Believe it or not, tailors and cobblers. Yes, tailors and cobblers. Why you ask? Well, when I asked my tailor and cobbler that question, I was told it was because people have rathered repair their stuff than buying new. I know it sounds crazy, but it makes lots of sense. I have a great tailor in town named Mike. I love the guy. Aside from being a great tailor, he's a super human being to boot. I've been going to Mike for about 4 or 5 years now to have anything from simple hems and mends done to some relatively complex alterations and rebuilds. Those who know me, know that I can be a bit particular. I will say that Mike is also a patient man. I hope to someday have him make me a custom suit but until I can afford to do that on this continent, I will at least continue to have my alterations done by him. This post does have a point, read on.

It got me wondering, how does one become a tailor or cobbler and then naturally should I be one? Well, as tailors go, I know sometimes they are either fashion grads or they're Asian or Italian. Cobblers though I have no idea. They are dominated neither by a particular ethnicity nor a schooling of any specificity. Which makes this one maybe more complicated because I think I'd like to learn cobblering. Why? Well, first off it's expensive. Secondly it smells good. There's hardly a better smell than shoes back from a repair and shine, no? Mmmm.... Thirdly, I am good with my hands. All sound like good reasons, right? I look at it this way. I figure I only have about 10 pair of shoes and boots and I probably visit the cobbler with those about 4-6 times a year. If I added the repair costs up, I probably spend $300-$400 a year getting stuff fixed. That's kind of a lot. Like enough to buy 1-2 nice pairs of new shoes. That's where I got to thinking. If I could just fix and maintain my own shoes, I could more easily justify acquisitions to my shoe collection from time to time. Problem is, I don't know where I'd learn these skills, which will be necessary should I decide to pursue this craft. Do they have a school for cobblery? Does it require a huge investment in tools? I don't really like tools much, so I hope not. In hindsight, this sounded like a good idea when I started writing this, but funny how things change 10 minutes later. Never mind.