The cobbler
Marc-André Beaudoin
Trained at the École des métiers du cuir de Montréal, 27 years at the bench. His grandfather opened the shop in 1962; the heel press and the Landis 12 date from that era and are still used every day.
An apprentice works with him on Saturdays. That's how it gets passed down — no other way.
At the counter
Saphir polish and creams
Insoles
Laces, all lengths
Cedar shoe trees
Brushes and cloths
The rules of the bench
Four rules,
never written on the wall.
01
Stitched, not glued
We take it apart, redo the welt and restitch it on the Landis. Glue is what gave out in the first place.
02
The price before the work
At the counter, we look the pair over with you and give you the price before we touch it.
03
We tell you what it's worth
When a repair would cost more than the pair, we tell you so, and we don't do it.
04
The 1962 machines
The heel press and the Landis 12 are maintained by hand. They still do the best work.
The shop's years
Sixty-four years,
three generations.
- 1962 The shop opens Grandfather Beaudoin sets up on Saint-Vallier Street with a heel press and a Landis 12.
- 1985 The son takes over The second generation adds leather goods and luggage: bags, belts, suitcases.
- 1999 Marc-André at the bench Fresh out of Montréal's leather trades school, he takes his place at the same machine.
- Today An apprentice on Saturdays The trade is passed on the way it always has been: next to someone who does it.