IT may remain a quaint and charming practice confined to the Victorian age, but one Colchester entrepreneur is bidding to bring shoe-shining back to the fore.
Gareth Tansey, who set up Dr G’s Sneaker Laundry from his garden shed in 2020, now operates a shop in Colchester High Street.
He turned his passion for repairing people’s used trainers into a business idea.
After spotting an old shoe-shining chair on Ebay, Mr Tansey decided to bring the old relic into the modern age.
“I got it off Ebay from someone who had retired from Brighton,” he said.
“I knew it still needed some work, we’ve been doing some work restoring the leather and structure, my nephew came in to help.
“99 per cent of the time it’s me and my mum in the shop, and my daughter, when my family come in and ask if there’s anything they can do then I always want to get them involved.”
The previous owner used to house the chair in a barber’s shop for customers who wanted to give their shoes a shine.
He is delighted to hear it will be given a new lease of life.
“He was concerned the chair might get spoiled,” said Mr Tansey.
“We can say we are one of, if not the only, shoe-shining business in East Anglia.
“People might provide this service from home, but people can come to me in the shop and just chat to me.
“That way people have trust in me, rather than approaching a business over social media.”
Mr Tansey said there is still a market for shoe-shining amongst people without the time to tend to their footwear.
“In Colchester the nearest place you could go is probably London to get your shoes shined,” he said.
“There aren’t many shoe-shining places, my friend does it at the Hilton Hotel, in Mayfair.
“He says people get their shoes shined when going in between meetings, people who haven’t had time to do it themselves.
“Why not bring it to Colchester as well?
“A lot of people go back and forth from Colchester into London, or to work in town – there might be an estate agent walking around whose got a nice suit on, but their shoes are a bit worse for wear.
“We’ll put a modern twist on it as well, if you need your trainers cleaned or smartened up, come in, get a quick clean and you’re off.”
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