by Shannon Scott May 17, 2021

When you try to frame a picture of a cobbler in your mind, you are probably thinking of an old, worn-down shop running for generations by the oldest man in the neighborhood. While this description wouldn’t be wrong until a few years back, it is fading swiftly today. Yet, there are a number of main and side-tasks that a cobbler has been associated with for a long time. 

Let’s admit it: there is nothing like a new pair of quality shoes. If only pop culture had not already tagged dogs and diamonds as our best friends, shoes would have certainly taken the spot unanimously. After all, there is nobody happier in this world than a child, or someone with a pair of new shoes!

But what happens when your footwear gets damaged? Don’t we simply throw them away? No one thinks about shoe repair or getting them refurbished as good as new. 

Quite surprisingly, young people today wouldn’t even know how or where to go to find a cobbler. Worse, many haven’t even heard of them. Wouldn’t it be great if you could wave a magic wand and say, fix my shoes?

Well, you’re in luck. Cobblers mend shoes, tidy them up, and even replace damaged parts. So, if your shoes are very expensive or are just a little scuffed on the soles, you might not want to throw them away and instead practice some shoe care. Also, some people might just want a break from industry-produced plastic shoes and prefer handmade shoes, something the ‘next-generation’ cobbler can boast of delivering.  

 

Who is a Cobbler?

When you try to frame a picture of a cobbler in your mind, you are probably thinking of an old, worn-down shop running for generations by the oldest man in the neighborhood. While this description wouldn’t be wrong until a few years back, it is fading swiftly today.

Yet, there are a number of main and side-tasks that a cobbler has been associated with for a long time. For instance, a cobbler can waterproof your shoes to add an extra layer of durability and resistance against damage. They can modify your shoe fitting if your feet grow a little, or if you bought the wrong size. Besides, they can repair or change the heel of your shoe if it is broken, ugly or wobbly.

As a preventative measure, cobblers can place a heel tip over your existing one so that it doesn’t wear out too fast. People also resort to cobblers to get their insole and arch padded, or to get their shoes cleaned and reconditioned. However, the most common job of a cobbler, for decades, has been re-soling. 

The cobbler removes the old stitches, detaches the outsoles from the uppers, midsole and insole followed by cleaning the area and preparing for a new welt and sole to be attached. Only an experienced cobbler will be able to use the same style of stitching that was present on the previous sole, considering the wide variety of shoes in vogue today.

Dropping the Other Shoe

The modern cobbler has stood up to these market changes and advanced their skills of repairing and shoemaking to render a more relevant service today. They are redefining the conventional sneaker, experimenting and advancing the craft of shoemaking to create handmade products that customers are so in love with. This is especially true when it comes to designing and creating a custom sneaker. 

With more and more people realizing the unique value of handmade shoes compared to the mass-produced sneaker, this is one genre that is seeing the most attention in footwear trends. People are now also opting for the modern cobbler to reinvent their old, commonplace sneaker, for good shoes never go unnoticed. Despite it being difficult to fix damaged sneakers, next-generation cobblers like COMUNITYmade are popularizing rare sneakers into the mainstream of popular styles, crafting customized products for shoe-lovers.

 

COMUNITYmade: The Next-Generation Cobbler 

At COMUNITYmade, we are a group of highly motivated “modern cobblers” who are striving to bring back to life the art of old-school shoemakers, handcrafting  new custom shoes with a touch of artistic elegance. Shoes, for us, are not just sources of profit but the vehicle to help connect and inspire others to take action.

COMUNITYmade is an L.A.-based cobbler enterprise that caters to making quality, handmade shoes using premium materials. Our founders have decades of footwear industry and marketing experience with shoe industry giants like Nike, ASICS, Vans, and TOMS. We don’t just repair shoes. We can also lend a personal touch to them through our knack for handcrafting classic pairs into unique styles of sneakers that can make heads turn wherever you go.

Step into Our Shoes of Thoughtful Change!

COMUNITYmade believes in bringing back the lost art of quality manufacturing to the city of Los Angeles by sustainably handcrafting different shoes using local materials and detailed insights. We believe that paying attention to the small things matter, which reflects in all our processes, from custom designs to personalized fits when stitching a shoe.

What’s more, you can book an appointment to create your shoe’s design – from style to colors, materials to laces, and more – and get your one-of-a-kind sneakers designed by YOU! We believe in transparency and a community-based price model, that allows you to give back to society even while purchasing a pair of custom shoes for yourself. Browse through some of our classic styles and custom creations and get in touch today!

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