46 Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Summer 2007

Cobbler Jeremy Meritt saves soles, one shoe at 

a time. He also mends heels, uppers, buckles, 

clasps, and other components of shoes and boots 

that are in need of repair.

“I rarely find something that I can’t fix,” says Jeremy. “I tend to take on more headaches than maybe I 

should, and those might take a little longer. But it’s rare 

that I see something I just can’t do.” 

Although cobblers are shoe repairers and sometimes 

shoemakers, their repertoire extends beyond shoes. 

They handle everything from fabric to plastic to wood. 

Jeremy, for example, once created a corkscrew tail for a 

pig-shaped footstool. Working with his wife, Elaine, he 

regularly repairs luggage, belts, handbags, briefcases, 

and other objects; occasionally, they get calls for inhome furniture repair. 

But the bulk of Jeremy’s work involves rebuilding or 

replacing the soles of shoes. Customers bring their tattered footwear to his Morton, Illinois, store and describe 

what they’d like done. Jeremy explains how he’ll fix the 

problem, notes the details on a work ticket, and reaches a 

price agreement with the customer. 

Like most cobblers, Jeremy has set prices for routine 

jobs. He usually charges $35 per pair for full sole replacement, for example, and about $12 per pair for heel 

repair. Complex jobs are more, primarily to cover the 

cost of the extra materials required. 

The first step in repairing most shoes is tearing them 

down: stripping away worn pieces to get to the usable 

base. Jeremy begins most workdays by gathering all the 

shoes, lining them up, and making his way along the row 

of footwear. One by one, using a knife or other tools, he 

removes old pieces and discards them.

Then, he takes the shoes to a large sanding machine. 

Sanding eliminates leftover particles, creating a clean but 

rough surface for rebuilding; glue bonds better to rough 

surfaces than to smooth ones. He also cuts, custom sizes, 

and sands the replacement parts for each shoe.

Rebuilding is next. Jeremy prepares adhesives for 

gluing the new pieces to the shoes. Rapidly drying glues 

allow little room for error, so Jeremy works down the 

line of shoes quickly to apply the adhesives and assemble the parts.

Long ago, cobblers hammered nails and stitched 

threads to hold the parts of a shoe together. Some 

cobblers today still use those traditional methods, but 

Jeremy is among those who rely on adhesives instead of 

nails. 

For these modern cobblers, nails are obsolete and 

stitching is largely decorative. “Glue technology has 

improved so much over the years,” says Jeremy, “that the 

bond the glue creates is actually stronger than the shoe 

itself.” 

After the glue dries and sets, Jeremy adds the finishKathleen Green is the editor of the OOQ, (202) 691-5717.

by Kathleen Green

You’re a what?

Cobbler
ing touches: trimming and sanding the new pieces to 

blend with the original parts, applying polish and sealant, and shining and buffing each shoe until it gleams. 

He might also need to use ink or dye, depending on the 

material, to match the new parts with the original color.

Dyes contain acetone, a flammable liquid that can 

cause eye irritation, and adhesives have dangerous 

vapors in them. Cobblers wear safety goggles to protect 

their eyes both from chemical splashes and from fine 

dust generated by the sander. They also need to keep 

their workspace well ventilated to guard against the 

long-term health consequences of inhaling chemicals. 

Most sole or heel replacements or repairs take about 

35 minutes from start to finish. But Jeremy usually estimates a 2-day turnaround for customer pickup because 

he prefers to group his work by task rather than by 

individual project. In this way, he can divide his day into 

teardowns, rebuilding or repairing, and finishing—and 

still have time to work on items other than shoes.

Once in a while, a customer asks Jeremy to create 

something from scratch, such as a pouch or coin case. 

“Those are fun, if I have the time,” he says. But Jeremy 

also works as a paramedic, so on the days he’s in his 

store, he’s usually busy doing repair work and meeting 

with customers. 

Jeremy uses communication skills and sales 

ability in dealing with customers. As a store 

owner, he also needs skills such as accounting 

and marketing to keep up with payroll, insurance, advertising, and related tasks of running 

a business. These skills are in addition to the 

manual dexterity, mechanical aptitude, and 

mathematical and problem-solving ability that 

all cobblers need to repair shoes and other items. 

Few formal training programs exist to prepare cobblers for the occupation. Most learn on 

the job; Jeremy, for example, trained under his 

stepfather’s supervision and gradually took over 

the business when his stepfather retired. “This is 

one of those trades where you just have to dig in 

and do it,” says Jeremy. “Once you learn it, you 

could go anywhere.”

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that in May 2006, there were 

7,450 shoe and leather workers and repairers 

employed throughout the country. Their median 

salaries were $20,450. These data include wage 

and salary workers only and do not count those, 

like Jeremy, who are self-employed. 

The small number of cobblers shows the 

limited demand for their services. For many 

people, it’s more economically feasible to buy new shoes 

than to repair old ones. But for other people, it’s more 

practical to refurbish expensive designer shoes than to 

purchase new ones, especially if the style is no longer 

available. And, says Jeremy, growing numbers of people 

understand the environmental advantages of repairing 

used goods. 

Jeremy speculates that there’s little public awareness 

about what cobblers do—or that they’re still around. He 

stays visible in his community by repairing banners, supplying material scraps, and providing other services to 

schools and civic groups. 

His customers value this community involvement. 

Jeremy has owned the store since 1998, but the business 

has been a fixture in Morton since 1959. “I get people 

who come in because they appreciate the whole familyrun aspect of the business,” he says. “I might 

be more progressive in my methods than 

other shops, but it’s continuing the 

tradition that I like best.” 

Summer 2007 • Occupational Outlook Quarterly 47

Original photo of Jeremy Meritt by Thinh Vu