About Us & Our Craft

"We weren’t always online. Then again, they didn’t have the internet in 1906."

All in the Family

Our family company has been in the shoe repair business since we first debuted over a hundred years ago—atop a horse-drawn carriage—in Houston, Texas.

Since then, we’ve carefully repaired tens of millions of shoes, boots, handbags, belts, wallets, and just about anything leather one can dream up.

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About 15 years ago, people began mailing their shoes and boots (unsolicited) to our doorstep, asking us to fix them. Some couldn’t find a local repair shop, while others were longtime customers who had moved out-of-state and knew we'd be happy to help.

We realized quickly that there was a need to offer our shoe repair accessible online, so we could reach anyone and everyone who sought it—even overseas.

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And thus, Cobblers Direct was born!

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Nowadays, just about everyone in our family is woven into the business—from grandparents and parents to aunts and uncles and from sons and daughters to spouses and cousins alike.

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And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

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We’re so happy you found us! Now, how can we help?

The Shoe Hospitals

"The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Or in our case, the hammer, plier and anvil!"

Our Parent Company: The Shoe Hospitals

Cobblers Direct is a homespun spin-off of the world-famous Shoe Hospital family of companies that have been repairing shoes, boots, handbags—even luggage, horse saddles, jackets, and near-anything made of leather—throughout the great state of Texas since 1906. 

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The Shoe Hospitals very first store in Houston took the shape of a horse-drawn carriage one hundred and fourteen years ago.

Since then, we’ve opened dozens of brick and mortar stores throughout Austin, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and San Antonio to serve the repair needs of all shoe and boot buffs, connoisseurs, mavens, collectors, and enthusiasts alike!

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Today, the Shoe Hospital family of companies is the largest shoe repair company in the world, taking great pride in the quality of our craft. 

A New Way to Cobble

"We think it's safe to say that most people probably aren't expecting to find shoe repair online, but we hope that you're pleasantly surprised to have found it!"

Online Shoe Repair by Mail

Cobbling is a specialized craft that has been passed thru generations and is sadly disappearing from neighborhood storefronts.

Luckily, the interweb (and FedEx!) has allowed Cobblers Direct to bring our family’s lifelong craft of cobbling (est. 1906) straight to the coziness of your own home—even if you live way out in the boondocks.

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Using our service is a snap. Just order your repairs online, drop-ship your items using our pre-paid label (or send to us using any method you like!), and wait to be overjoyed upon their return.

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You know that feeling of being reacquainted with a beloved old friend? Yeah, that’s the one you'll get when you choose to repair your shoes, boots, and handbags.

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Are you ready to revive your favorites?

Let’s do this!

Austin, Texas

"We’re from all over Texas, but Cobblers Direct put down roots in the capital city of Austin."

“Keep Austin Weird”

We’re not exactly sure why that’s our city’s motto, and yet, it makes so much sense.

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Austin is known for live music, world-class BBQ, our giant village of bats, and of course, shoe repair.

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You’ll be happy to know that while your favorite things are here with us, we’ll treat them to the best kolaches our city has to offer before they land happily back on your doorstep to enjoy again, as if it was the very first time you met.

Sustainability

"If you can believe it, nearly 1.5 million tons of waste is produced each year in the manufacture of new footwear, and that number doesn’t take into account the shoes being thrown in the trash."

We need to break this cycle and reach back to the sage philosophy we learned from our depression-era grandparents—waste not, want not.

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Cobblers Direct is on a mission to challenge all humans to buy well-made, eco-responsibly manufactured shoes and boots that can be repaired by skilled cobblers and worn for years upon years upon years upon ... you get the idea.

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We hope you’ll share in our mission and choose repair over waste!

Waste Not, Want Not.

Few things are as destructive to animal life and our already overflowing landfills than new shoe and boot manufacturing.

The massive amounts of leather, the rubber and plastic waste, the chemicals used in dyeing and processing—even the packaging and shipping—is all unnecessary misuse of resources we could (and should) be recycling and re-using.

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Our society’s increased access to low cost goods naturally encourages us all to buy more and more.

It’s become too easy to purchase cheap (and cheaply-made) shoes and boots that we’ll only use for a brief period of time before we swiftly toss them in the garbage when they start to look shabby or fall apart. Then what do we do? Buy more. More leather, more rubber, more chemicals. More and more waste.