My boots. Your benefit.

Well I wish I wasn’t some sort of moron. If I had been smart and able to see into the future, I would have taken a photo of my boots before. But I didn’t. You’re going to have to trust me about all the stuff I am going to tell you now.

My boots (pictured above) are very nice and I love them.

I also tend to walk pretty hard on my heel and so I’d worn though the rubber on one boot and had actually just started to grind on the wood of the heel. The other boot was about to hit the same state when I took my boots in for repair.

When I worked in downtown Vancouver, I’d take my boots to the place near the library on Robson, but in the four months since my departure from the library, he’d closed up shop because rents were skyrocketing with all the building around him. Even though the neighbourhood could use a shoe repair shop. So I couldn’t take them there.

I had a note on the fridge, and the poor design notwithstanding, the new shop that opened in my neighborhood was ready for business.

I took my boots to Hugo’s Shoes[sic] Repair.

Hugo eagerly accepted my request and suggested he replace the half sole too and told me a little bit about himself and his work.

I paid him in advance. And just less than a week later I got a call that my boots were ready.

My boots were ready, but I wasn’t.

What happened, you see, is that a man who is nothing more than a dedicated genius got a hold of my footwear and committed nothing less than pure shoemaker professionalism on them.

Yes the half sole is there, and the new heel. Very well done. The new rubber sole integrates beautifully with the leather and is sealed nicely. The seam is barely tangible. The heels are new Vibrams and seem to be well set. But that’s not even the start of it.

All of that is nice, but is just the result according to Hugo. What matters is all of this:

Care
Hugo always remembers that people wear the shoes he works on, and so every move he makes and all the work he does will affect a real person, You.

Quality
There is no substitute for real quality, and real quality is real economy because if you spend a little bit more now, the longevity of your footwear will pay time and time again. Shoes made in factories and not by craftmen last at most 6 months. Well-built and maintained shoes can last for years.

Technical Prowess
The only way to deliver the care and quality that Hugo wants you to have is to be a master and to commit to doing all the work from broad strokes to small detail.

Which is why he repaired and made good the wood of the heel. Then he planed the bottom of the boot so the boots stand truly flat and the sole and heel engage the ground with maximum coverage. He added a rubber riser. And only then he attached the half sole and the heel.

And technical prowess is why he wants to build his business so he can get to what he really loves which is handcrafting bespoke shoes and boots.

The Long Run
As important as the previous three things are, this one is crucial to Hugo’s professional outlook as well as his life.

Time and ongoing relationships matter. Over time you will be successful. Over time he will come to know you. Over time you will discover that repairing your shoes and maintaining them is far more inexpensive than buying new cheap and crappy shoes all the time. Over time we can improve but only if we pay attention and care about the things we do and the people they affect.

How often do we hear anything like this these days?

Oh like maybe never.

So here’s the deal.

You are too poor to buy cheap and crappy things. Take care of the things you have as best you can. If you have shoes and boots that need repair or some maintenance then take them to Hugo. If you need other things like jackets or purses repaired, then take them to Hugo. If you live in Vancouver then get on over here to Collingwood and bring your boots to Hugo. Don’t live in Vancouver? Send them to Hugo. Really. I am so not kidding.

Hugo is from Columbia, and speaks very accented English, so if you don’t speak Spanish give him a little room and time. If you don’t speak English or Spanish, just trust him.

Here’s his info:
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He’s opened from 0900 - 1800 Monday through Saturday. Sundays are closed.

Tell him Jon Whipple sent you.