“Through a YouTube video,” answers Viet Pham when asked how he came up with the idea of training to be a shoemaker. Because today this is one of the trades that is already rare. At the Frankfurt Chamber of Crafts they are mentioned in the same breath as ivory carvers, i.e. truly exceptional. But for Viet Pham it is exactly the right job. “I have to be able to move, which is why I always wanted to do something crafty and not sit around in the office,” reports the trainee, who started his apprenticeship at the Lenz shoemaker’s shop in Frankfurt’s Bahnhofsviertel this year.
In order to test whether the job was really right for him, he initially applied for an internship after some internet research. And Master Alexander Dohn immediately agreed to him. Because applications are rare for him: the last trainee had already passed her journeyman's examination eight years ago. She still works at the company on Münchner Straße.
And Viet Pham also has good prospects of being able to continue working there after training. Dohn, who took over the shop from his father, sees good opportunities for the shoemaking trade in the future. However, the business has changed in recent years. The production of custom-made shoes only accounts for around 30 percent of the work, while the refurbishment of older and broken shoes is the main source of revenue for the business at 70 percent and rising. The corona pandemic has also left its mark, as Dohn notes. The fact that people work from home more often means that the shop, which is on the route from the train station to the financial district, has fewer walk-in customers.
Master shoemaker Alexander Dohn in the Lenz shoemaking workshop.
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Image: Aaron Leithäuser
Sustainability helps business
“You can feel it!” And significantly more sneakers are being worn instead of the previously usual business shoes. But sneakers could also be repaired, so they didn't necessarily mean a loss of customers. Because there is another trend that helps business: sustainability. “People don’t want to throw away so much anymore,” says Dohn. “They prefer to spend more for good quality.” And higher-quality shoes are also easier to repair. Dohn has service contracts with some providers to repair customers' shoes in the event of complaints or wear and tear. “The few good shoe stores that still exist want to offer their customers good service.”
What a shoemaker can do with beloved older boots can be seen in a pair on display in the store. On the one hand there is a shoe with a worn sole and brittle, dull leather, on the other hand there is a shoe that doesn't look like it was freshly produced, but with a new sole and well-greased, polished leather it looks neat and almost as new again – at least for a few more years wearable for a long time. “We use techniques that have been around for more than 100 years,” says Dohn. But also new ones that are being added. This also applies to custom shoemaking. He can also use the sewing machines to make custom-made sneakers.
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