Custom Cobblers’ Heel & Sole Connection

Nathanael does work with true care and appreciation. Worth stopping by and seeing if you can bring old shoes to life again.

This place is amazing. I remember stopping here years back and it was a slightly different experience. At that time there was an older guy working by himself. I asked him if he could fix a pair of dress shoes I had to wear for a wedding in 2 days. He was rather short and said there was no way he could accommodate with such short notice. Completely understandable, just seemed a bit rude at the time.
The most recent time I was in was a whole different story. The guy working was much younger. When I told him about the last time. He explained that he had recently bought the shop. It seemed strange that, at his age, he would own a cobbler shop. That’s just how passionate this guy is! His name is Nathaniel and he is awesome. I had brought him my favorite pair of suede Wolverine 1000 Mile boots and they were looking pretty ratty. Not only did he fix the heel, but he cleaned the suede without me even asking!
I have a bunch of old shoes/​boots that I thought were beyond repair. I now plan to bring them all in for new life!

Negative Stars. Not sure if he is in over his head or is just a jerk but he has no customer service skills and I have to say upon first glance you think he should be a cool guy but he doesn’t have his act together. He may be skilled but it remains to be seen cause after 7 weeks he didn’t even attempt to repair my shoes. Summer heels and Summer is almost over. He wouldn’t even answer emails or his phone and was quite abusive when I just went in to inquire after the 7weeks and no response and was a complete belligerent jerk off!

Love this place. Nathaniel is so courteous and friendly, and they fixed my shoes in less time than anticipated. My shoes were returned to me repaired wonderfully, and had also been shined. AND you just feel great supporting a shop like this. I’m 100% satisfied.

I dropped off a pretty beat up pair of boots to Nathaneal hoping that he could fix them up – and he really did a fantastic job! The boots had a two inch heel before I stomped that down about an inch, plus nasty salt damage from the winter… they were a mess. When I got them back they looked brand NEW! When he told me how much I owed him, I was shocked… I’m pretty sure that I stole those shoe repairs. Needless to say, if you need some quality work done on your shoes– you should bring them here! You won’t be disappointed! Thanks, Nathaneal!

Once in a while you run into a shop that really does things well and, when that happens to me, I like to give them a shout-​out. Today it was Heel and Sole a shoe repair place on Sherman (in Madison). I thought I was going to be dropping off my leather coat to get the zipper replaced. Instead he asked a few questions and said, «Let’s try a smaller repair first.» He took my coat to the back and two minutes later had repaired it. When I tried to pay him, he laughed and said, «No. No charge. Go away, now.» (In a very funny way — not at all rude.) Day = made.

If your shoe repair is anything harder than a busted elastic, you’re better off going someplace else. The man who does the repairs shies away from any projects that seem involved, for example, gluing the shoe back on a shoe. How hard is that, really? I took in a boot where the sole was coming off and he didn’t even look at it before saying no. «Are you sure there’s absolutely nothing you can do to fix it?» «NOPE.» He may also have added that no one could possibly fix it but Eastside Shoe Repair was more than willing to give it a shot. (Eastside Shoe not only said they could fix it, but they also did it for free. Definitely skip this place and head over to Eastside for quality shoe repairs with friendly customer service.)
In summary: curmudgeonly old dude will refuse to fix your shoes, go to Eastside Shoe Repair.

The closest shoe repair place to me is closed for a while, so I ventured to the north side of Madison. When I got to this place (in a little strip mall, parking wasn’t an issue) there was a sign that they were opening at noon instead of 9am that day. Luckily I got there at noon, not 9am.
I dropped off my shoes (red leather maryjanes with some busted elastic) with the older gentleman in charge of what seems to be a one-​man show. He was polite enough. Not friendly, not brusque. He said to come back in a week, told me how much it would be, and gave me my numbered ticket.
I returned in a week, got my lovely shoes (perfectly repaired, he re-​did the elastic on the other shoe so they’d match), paid him, and was back in my car (parked right in front of the shop) in no time. I’d be happy to take any other leather goods to this shop for fixing up.

I have taken many shoes, boots, a few purses, chaps, and leather coats, to have fixed and have always been very pleased with their work, service, and efficiency. I could take my items to a place closer to me, but it’s worth driving a bit out of my way to know I’ll be treated well.

I went into get my zipper fixed on my boot. He did a good job on the boot but the customer service wasn’t great. I used my card for the small cost but he complained about it because he said he gets charged for the purchase. I can understand his side of it but I thought he could have been more friendlier about it. Unsure if I would go back