Today we’d like to introduce you to Jim McFarland.
Hi Jim, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Shoe repair has been in my family since 1918, but I originally went to college to do something else. My dad became ill while I was in college, so I returned to help him. The shop had financial issues because of his health, so I dropped my classes to help, and my dad passed away. I had two choices: closing the store and returning to school or keeping the business. It seemed a shame to close a family business that’s been around for so long, so I decided to take it on. I was newly married, and I told my wife if I was going to be a cobbler, I would be the best one I could be. One of the first things I did once I took over was get involved with the Shoe Service Institute of America (SSIA). It’s an association for the shoe service trade that’s been around since 1904. Every year they have a show where they give seminars and show all of the up-to-date products for our industry. I have attended almost every show since 1990. As the years went on, I asked lots of questions from some of the best artisans in the world. We have a major shoe recrafting competition that has been around since 1938, called the Grand Silver Cup. Less than 25 people living in the world now have this award. I won the award in 2002. From then on, we began to get media coverage. It started with local news but then kept gaining traction. We got picked up by Money Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and even Oprah magazine, among many others. During Covid-19, we decided to bring our work to TikTok to keep people entertained and inform them about a dying industry that had taken off. Today we have over 380,000 people following us on TikTok, which continues to grow daily. Now, we get shoes mailed to our shop from all over the world to be repaired! I just recently finished my third year as the President of the SSIA, which has been one of the biggest honors in my career thus far. I would not be who I am today if we didn’t have this amazing association in our industry.
You wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
There have been many struggles along the way. In 2004, we had three hurricanes directly hit us back to back. We lost half of our house, and our shopping center was in ruins and had to be reconstructed. During this time, I had another choice to make. Go into debt, dig my way out, or close the business and call it quits. It was one of the most difficult times, but we could make it out of that. Then, during the Covid-19 shutdown, we only had around 25-30% of our customers coming in since so many people were working from home. Thankfully, we had people mailing us their shoes from all over the country, which helped keep us afloat during another tough time.
We’ve been impressed with McFarland’s Shoe Repair, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We specialize in recrafting footwear, especially men’s and women’s high-end footwear. We are known for intricate perfection, on-time service, and receiving some of the highest awards in craftsmanship in North America and Europe. I have also been the Grand Silver Cup head judge for fifteen years, the highest coveted award in our industry. We are also very proud to say we have been in business for over 100 years and have kept our small family trade alive since 1918. Service is our number one priority. It is hard to find good service and quality in today’s market, and these are things we place a high value on. In 1928, there were 120,000 shops in the United States, and today there are less than 4,000. This is because few people are learning this trade anymore. Many invest in $85-$100 pairs of shoes that wear out after a couple of years and must be thrown away. Our industry is likely one of the oldest recycling industries in the world. We highly recommend investing in quality footwear made of good leather materials because cheap synthetic materials like “vegan leather” deteriorate quickly and end up in our landfills in alarming numbers, where they will sit for hundreds of years.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Having things done on time is one of the most important things for me, as making sure the customer is happy with the service provided and the finished product.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mcfarlandsshoerepair.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/americascobbler/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americascobbler
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mcfarlands-shoe-repair-lakeland?osq=Mcfarland%27s+shoe+repair
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@americascobbler
