Scoring something cool from a thrift store is always a good feeling. Snagging an item for a fraction of what it's worth and restoring it to its original glory is priceless — unless, of course, you sell it for a huge profit.
One lucky Reddit user hit the jackpot when they found a pair of fancy leather shoes that needed some love. Luckily, the Redditor is a cobbler's apprentice and gave the shoes the love they desperately required.
"In my free time I work apprenticing as a cobbler and eventually plan to open up my own shoe repair and leather working shop," the Redditor posted in the r/ThriftStoreHauls subreddit. "Here's a pair of Allen Edmond 5th Avenue's I got criminally cheap. Goes to show what a little TLC and a resole can bring out of a shoe built to last a lifetime."
Along with the caption, the user posted two sets of photos. The first set of pictures show the tops and bottoms of the well-worn leather shoes before being repaired. The second set displays the shiny, polished shoes that look like they just came out of the box.
While not everyone is a cobbler's apprentice capable of bringing shoes back to life, this post is a good reminder that old shoes don't have to be discarded, especially if they were made to stand the test of time.
Some companies will even repair your old shoes for you. For example, UGG has a new program that will restore your well-loved boots.
Americans throw away at least 300 million pairs of shoes each year and shoes can take 30 to 40 years to decompose. So if you can't make your old shoes look like new, there are plenty of more eco-friendly ways to dispose of them.
Nike has a program that allows you to donate used athletic shoes of any brand. There are even companies like GotSneakers that will pay for your old shoes.
As for the cobbler's apprentice, everyone was impressed with his sweet shoe skills.
"Great job and I love that you're an apprentice! We need more," one person comments — while another replies, "Impressive work!"
One Redditor was blown away by the finished product, saying, "I thought I was ready for the reveal. I was not."
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