Niche store provides sole solutions

The narrow Family Shoe Repair shop in Aurora is satisfyingly aromatic with the musk of leather.
Neatly displayed in the cramped quarters are polishes, cleaners and accessories. The shelves are lined with re-heeled stilettos, re-soled boots and polished oxfords and handbags, new and rehabilitated.
Owner and master craftsman Boris Isailove greets customers with an Eastern European-flavour.
With the pragmatism of a busy triage physician, he lays ailing footwear on the counter, performs an expert diagnosis, offers a prompt prescriptive remedy, often surgical, a prognosis and price.
Since 1989, the native of Georgia in the former Soviet Union has been plying his Old World craft in the Aurora Shopping Plaza, first isolated in the back, but, since 1995, in the more prominent front.
The tiny, tidy shop has become a beacon for the well-heeled and those who will be, once Mr. Isailove and his three employees have worked their sole revival magic.
The artistry of their services draws customers from across York Region and Ontario, he said. Cobbler-client confidentiality keeps names under wraps, but considering the designer labels and high-end riding boots awaiting their owners, he confirms patrons include plenty of recognizable celebrities, politicians and athletes.
The retail Canadian footwear market, valued at $3.7 billion in 2008, according to Trendex, declined 3.2 per cent a year later. The sluggish economy has been a boon for artisans such as Mr. Isailove. Repair, rather than replace, is the mantra of the newly frugal and fiscally wise. It makes sense.
A replacement lift costs a fraction of a $1,200 Jimmy Choo pump. A re-line of a $1,500 signature red lacquer-soled Christian Louboutin sling makes it new.
When the economy is bad, people don't think twice about investing $20 to $50 to repair a $200 or $300 pair of shoes, Mr. Isailove said. The motivation to mend for the majority of his customers is a reluctance to part with comfortable, broken-in shoes.
Old school craftsmanship is a dying art. The Shoe Service Institute of America, a trade group, said there are just 7,000 shoe-repair shops left in the U.S., down from more than 120,000 during the Great Depression.
As a 13-year old, Mr. Isailove worked part-time in a Georgian shoe repair shop. By 15, he was apprenticing as a shoemaker and leather worker in Vienna, Austria. He was also learning to be a plumber.
“It was a big decision,” he said. “But, I was drawn to the shoe trade.”
Mr. Isailove proudly displays a binder with his apprenticeship certificates and several all-European first prize awards for shoe and leather work competitions.
After years of learning his trade, his elderly Viennese boss approached him and handed him the keys to the shop.
“The only condition was that I treat the customers as he did,” Mr. Isailove said with a smile.
He learned from the best and continued to do so after arriving in Canada in 1988 and opening his own shop a year later. He hired two retirees who wanted to keep their hands in the craft.
“They were brilliant,” he said wistfully. “Both were holocaust survivors. I learned so much about life and the trade from them. Without them, I'd only be half of what I am now.”
His staff totals three, each an expert in some aspect of shoemaking, repair, tannery and dyeing.
Once a person experiences a top notch shoe repair, they tend to stay with the mending regime, he said. A quality shoe can undergo a quality repair. Cheap synthetic shoes, he said, can be difficult to fix. Leather is a live, organic product and lends itself to stitching, grafting, dyeing and strengthening.
He estimates thousands of pairs of shoes pass through his doors annually. Many equestrians and polo players entrust their speciality boots to Mr. Isailove. His crew will change soles, heels, lining and colours, repair zippers, clean and polish. It's standard duty, he said. Some footwear, however, requires meticulous attention. A “one-in-a-million” pair of Italian lady's shoes, valued at $26,000, and a pair of custom-made men's dancing shoes encrusted with Swarovski crystals drew a bead of sweat.
His best advice to customers is to buy quality, properly fitted footwear. To prolong a shoe's life, keep the uppers clean, polished and protected. Invest in a good cedar shoe tree that will keep it fresh and formed.
“It's a 50-50 deal,” he said. “You take care of the uppers, we'll take care of the rest.”
The local shoe repair fraternity is friendly, Mr. Isailove said. Most refer to each other's specialties. Craftsmanship and customer service reign supreme and beget fierce loyalty and plenty of humorous anecdotes.
There's the tale of a busy executive with major sock — destroying holes in his favourite shoes. Eventually, he made time for repairs when he calculated it would be cheaper than buying new socks every day.
Then there's his friend, Pasquale, a retired barber, who visits, puts his feet on the counter and has his shoes polished.
“For 10 years he's been coming in,” Mr. Isailove said. “His father was a shoemaker in Calabria. We give him a polish and hand him some change. He turns around and hands it back and says, ‘Keep the change'.  He gives us so much love and energy.”