ShoeBeautician.Com

HI Folks,

Well its a new year, we have a new president and hopefully better times are ahead for our people.  We had it too good for too long and maybe took our freedoms and opportunities for granted.  I know I did.  Like so many of our good Amereican folks, I used my home like an ATM machine.  Need a boat, no problem, just refinance the house.  WEll now I have a nice little boat but the house is worth less than the loan.  Yeaowwwww!

I do feel very fortunate to be the business I’m in though.  While most businesses have slowed, shoe repair has bounced back.  my phone is ringing off the hook.  “Let’s see , new boots for $150 or new heels for $15? That’s a no brainer.

Let’s talk shoe shines.  I used to have the shoe shine concession in the Hyatt Regency hotel in Sacramento across from the state capital, home of the “Govarnator” Arnold.  He has two hundred pairs of cowboy boots but that’s a different story.  Back to shoe shining.

Leather is skin and needs care.  When I shine a pair of shoes or boots, first I wipe off the item with a damp clean rag to remove dirt or dust then I coat the sole and heel edges with Kiwi “Scuff Cover”.  It comes in brown and black and can be found at most sundries stores.  After that sole and edge dressing dries, I apply the polish.  For soft leather or faded leather items I furst use Meltonian shoe creme.  Other cremes are avalaible and work as well but Meltonian has more colors to choose from.  I apply polish with a damp sponge.  Not wet just damp.  It spreads the polish evenly and in the case of wax polish gives you a quicker “spit shine”.  One most shoes, I first use creme to clean the leather and cover scuffs then wax to give them more shine and waterproofing.  Use a horsehair brush for buffing off the polish.  Two coats of wax usually will give a nice gloss to the item.  use the brush for a buffing then use a shoe shine cloth or cotton “t” shirt for the final buff.  An old black shoe shiner friend of mine who taught me how to shine shoes used to say.

“Mac, you can get a pretty good shine with a brush but you gots to pop the rag to get the lustre’.

And he was right.

If you want to waterproof your footwear before you shine them just put a coat of silicone spray or liquid on the item, let dry for one hour, then shine as shown above.

Keep you shoes and boots looking nice bacause they last longer and in business, when you meet someone, first they look at your eyes, then your neckwear and finally at your shoes.  So the last thing they see is your shoes.  Keep your shoes in good repair.  Remember, your shoes get the blues when there’s holes in their soles.   All the best,  Mac

hi Folks,

I woke up this morning with an attitude of gratitude.  The sun is shining, the fish are biting, people are getting their shoes fixed.  All is good with my world.

When it comes to gratitude, I just wanted to mention my web master chris.  He is a terrific web master and knows all the newest cutting edge techniques and tricks to get me noticed.  If you like my web site and want to hook up with Chris, just let me know.

Now, to the business at hand.   my fellow Americans are financially challenged like they haven’t been since the late eighties.  We are all looking for ways to save money.  Well, I have a good tip for you.  If you want to go shopping for clothes or shoes, the first place to look is in you own closet.  We have been real spoiled this last 10 years.  We look at a pair of shoes or boots that we have been enjoying for awhile and think.

“Wow, these heels are run down.  I guess I’ll go out and get a new pair.”  That was then, this is now.  That pair of old friends can be made better than new for about ten percent of the purchase price.  Why better than new, you ask?  Better because they are already broken in so you don’t have to go through that painful break in period.

So–rather than running out and spending money on new chothes and shoes with money that you could use for more important things like fishing lures or a good book, get those good shoes, boots, and outfits out of the closet and repair the shoes and dryclean the outfits or even take the outfits to a tailor and change the style a little.  This will save you a furtune.   I believe in this country and its resilient people.  I know that things will turn around soon in the economy but for now, let’s get smart and save money and use the stuff we already bought.

Soon you will be able to send in questions to me about footwear and some foot problems.  Watch for the new forum and I’ll look forward to hearing from you.

All the best,

Mac the Cobbler

HI Folks,

Well last night I had to put the heavy guilt on the bed.  That means summer is gone and out come the boots and heavy shoes.

Times dictate that we need to save money any way we can.

Here are two good ideas for you to prepare for winter.

1) If you think you need new shoes, the first place to shop is in your own closet.  Most of us have shoes and boots that we don’t wear new just because we felt like buying new ones.  Get them out of the closet, repair them, get them cleaned and polished.  Good quality shoes and boots can be recolored, redecorated, and even remodeled for far less than buying ones of the same quality.

2) It is a good idea to treat shoes and boots to protect them from water and salt.  Get some silicone spray or liquid and give the footware two coats.  The silicone soaks into the leather and swells each fiber thus keeping out water.

I like to also put a coat of wax polish on top because it coats the leather surface with wax and also shines up the shoes.

I you notice ugly white salt stains on your footware, uses a mixture of vinegar and water half and half to remove the white stains.

For you folks in very snowy areas consider using mink oil to treat your leather but be aware that the mink oil might darken the leather slightly.

For heavy books use Snow-Seal to treat the sole edges to help keep water out.

Also if you are convinced that you do really need some new shoes than check out my selection of shoes on this sight.  I will only show the good stuff and I’ve forgotten more about shoes than most people will ever know.

Believe in yourself and your country.  WE will get through these times.

All the best,   Mac the Cobbler

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