WASHINGTON: Two cobblers in a custom-fitted RV are touring the West Coast, resoling shoes with any of Vibram’s 30-plus sole designs. Gino Conti and Refugio Contreras-Dominguez are Vibram’s veteran cobblers. Send in your broken shoes, and they wind up in the hands of these two. They fix tears, replace soles, and polish any shoe that crosses their path. Now, their reach spreads further with the Sole Factor Tour. This summer, the cobblers leave the confines of their shoe-repair shops in Warwick, N.Y., for the road. On the Sole Factor Tour, the two will operate in a mobile-cobbler factory.
Vibram picked up an RV and customized it with all the equipment needed to perform repairs. Sanding booths, glue stations, and inventory of all available Vibram soles fit inside. Service takes about four hours and costs $30. High heels, dirty work boots, street running shoes, it does not matter: Vibram won’t discriminate with repairs. I got a hands-on experience with the RV, and put the cobblers to work. Vibram outfitted my Keens with a new camo Carrarmato sole. While in Portland for the Struktur Design conference, I toured the RV, met the cobblers, and got my shoes repaired. The process is simple: Bring your shoes to the RV, pick out a sole from Vibram’s catalog, and let the cobblers do the rest. In addition to fixing up shoes, the tour wants to spread the message of shoe repair. Frequently, when shoes wear down, tear, or break, they’re thrown in the trash. Vibram sees repair as an option people need to know about.
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