Greg Paul is taking over the Country Cobbler in Mornington after buying the business off retiring owner Greg Fox.
Mr Paul, who was taught by his father to cobble, is taking the opportunity to buy the shop to teach his 17-year-old son George the trade.
“My father taught me, he was a cobbler, so we’re third generation which is pretty unusual in this trade,” Mr Paul said.
His son was taking to cobbling well, he said.
“He likes it and his girlfriend is going to help with a bit of sewing so it’s going good.”
He believed his business was likely to attract new customers as a result of strong economic headwinds pushing people to think harder about how they spend their money.
“Every 20-odd years, the cobbler comes into his own again, when the economy dies down a bit, which it’s sort of heading that way,” Mr Paul said.
“People become a bit more frugal and rather than buy a new pair they can get some more miles out of the old one and it sort of helps me and helps them so we’re both winning.
“A lot of people throw their stuff away but they’re getting better at it.”
Apart from the “bread and butter” of cobbling, key cutting and engraving, he was also going to make products out of possum skin, Mr Paul said.
As a former possum trapper, he had a group of friends who would supply him with pelts.
George said he enjoyed cobbling because there was a lot to do.
“You’re always busy, gluing stuff, sewing stuff up, it’s all working with your hands.”
He also liked the cross-generational aspect to it.
“[Dad] did it, his dad did it, everyone’s family taught each other how to do it … it helps connect me with parents and it’s nice having something to pass on.”
Mr Fox, 68, is retiring after running the shop for 25 years.
After having the business on the market for almost a year, he believed he had found the perfect person to take it over.
“It’s quite a relief to find someone to take over rather than having to shut down and sell all the bits and pieces.
“Finding someone with the skills like Greg’s, who’s a cobbler as well, he knows the game, so it was a one-in-a-million chance of finding someone like that but it’s worked out, worked out perfect,” he said.
Retirement was taking a bit of getting used to, but he was going to use the extra time to get back into the craft of shoe making and seeing more of his grandchildren.
One of the things he would miss most was the sense of community in Mornington.
“I’d do a bit of a shopping over the road and people would get to know you and then the girls from across the road would come across the road to get their shoes fixed … it was a bit of a community feel.”
But he was enjoying swapping the morning rush with reading the paper and having a leisurely breakfast, Mr Fox said.
