Synthetic fabrics vs. fabrics made of natural fibers

[mike]

So do you wear shoes with no dyes, or synthetic materials?

I have a pair my wife got at a thrift store for $20 that I use for rough work; an expensive pair of Hokas I bought at someone else's recommendation (which I wouldn't recommend); some old leather style shoes for church; and then nice rubber Honeywell boots. Pretty sure they all have some synthetics in them.

It's possible to say something is a good idea when unable to practice it perfectly. I would say that for future purchases I plan to be focused on something that will be durable and last a long time, which modern, synthetic-based shoes don't - they are designed to wear out quickly so you have to buy replacements.

Do I see a cobbler apprenticeship in your future?

I have been captivated by the shoe repair reels by Sergio Alberini, a cobbler who has 600,000 plus followers on Facebook. His work is really incredible. My guess is he makes more off ads than he does on fixing shoes. It's incredibly satisfying to watch what can be done with a worn-out pair of shoes. I don't know whether it makes sense economically, but there should be people like this in every town.

[barnhart]

I have been captivated by the shoe repair reels by Sergio Alberini, a cobbler who has 600,000 plus followers on Facebook. His work is really incredible. My guess is he makes more off ads than he does on fixing shoes. It's incredibly satisfying to watch what can be done with a worn-out pair of shoes. I don't know whether it makes sense economically, but there should be people like this in every town.

Very nice. I actually make a living doing the equivalent with furniture craft and my observation is not many people are willing to pay what it costs.

[mike]

I have been captivated by the shoe repair reels by Sergio Alberini, a cobbler who has 600,000 plus followers on Facebook. His work is really incredible. My guess is he makes more off ads than he does on fixing shoes. It's incredibly satisfying to watch what can be done with a worn-out pair of shoes. I don't know whether it makes sense economically, but there should be people like this in every town.

Very nice. I actually make a living doing the equivalent with furniture craft and my observation is not many people are willing to pay what it costs.

Start posting your work on Tik-Tok and now you have a solid business plan

[barnhart]

I have been captivated by the shoe repair reels by Sergio Alberini, a cobbler who has 600,000 plus followers on Facebook. His work is really incredible. My guess is he makes more off ads than he does on fixing shoes. It's incredibly satisfying to watch what can be done with a worn-out pair of shoes. I don't know whether it makes sense economically, but there should be people like this in every town.

Very nice. I actually make a living doing the equivalent with furniture craft and my observation is not many people are willing to pay what it costs.

Start posting your work on Tik-Tok and now you have a solid business plan

Then I would be a film producer/actor, not a craftsman.

[mike]

Very nice. I actually make a living doing the equivalent with furniture craft and my observation is not many people are willing to pay what it costs.

Start posting your work on Tik-Tok and now you have a solid business plan

Then I would be a film producer/actor, not a craftsman.

Somehow some of these people manage to be both. The problem is the market is pretty crowded. I've seen a few people that I know try to get something going on YouTube and it just doesn't take off- it seems there are only so many viewers and available seconds, and the wannabes can have a tough time of it.

[ken_sylvania]

I have became very strict with my children about what dresses to wear when we’re burning, etc., because you can have a huge hole melted in your dress without you even noticing it. and of course, it burns onto skin if it gets the chance.

Professional martyrs??

[Soloist]

I have became very strict with my children about what dresses to wear when we’re burning, etc., because you can have a huge hole melted in your dress without you even noticing it. and of course, it burns onto skin if it gets the chance.

Professional martyrs??

Be always ready to burn on notice.

[Neto]

I have a pair my wife got at a thrift store for $20 that I use for rough work; an expensive pair of Hokas I bought at someone else's recommendation (which I wouldn't recommend); some old leather style shoes for church; and then nice rubber Honeywell boots. Pretty sure they all have some synthetics in them.

It's possible to say something is a good idea when unable to practice it perfectly. I would say that for future purchases I plan to be focused on something that will be durable and last a long time, which modern, synthetic-based shoes don't - they are designed to wear out quickly so you have to buy replacements.

Do I see a cobbler apprenticeship in your future?

I have been captivated by the shoe repair reels by Sergio Alberini, a cobbler who has 600,000 plus followers on Facebook. His work is really incredible. My guess is he makes more off ads than he does on fixing shoes. It's incredibly satisfying to watch what can be done with a worn-out pair of shoes. I don't know whether it makes sense economically, but there should be people like this in every town.

There used to be (repair craftsmen for about everything, in every town). There was a shoe repair shop here in Berlin, until tourism took over, and nearly all of the stores that were useful to the residents slowly turned into tourist traps. I had a hole in the side of one of work boots repaired in the shoe shop here in Berlin. (I think I had cut it on some steel, but don't remember now.) Back home we often would get a pair of shoes re-soles, or had the heels replaced. When the motor in the hair clippers burned out, my dad took it to an area shop, where the owner rewound the motor. Same with a Skil circular saw my dad had. Dad did a valve job on the 53 Dodge pickup out in the yard. (We didn't have a garage of carport back then.) I don't recall either of my grandpas doing this, but I've heard that some farmers would tear down the tractor engine every winter, to prepare for the next Spring (to be sure that it wouldn't break down when it was needed most, and there was no available time to do it without loosing a crop).

It was that way in Brazil when we lived there. I had a leather money pouch that the zipper stripped out on. Took it to a shop in town, and he put in a new zipper for a dollar or so. (I actually rewound the motor for an electric fan myself, with 'coaching' from our old-timer electrical repair support guy.) It is the high cost of labor, coupled with the low cost of foreign (sometimes slave) labor that has destroyed this way of life. (Well, cheaply made goods made of inferior materials also contributes to this outcome, but 'Americans' are also known in other countries as wasteful people. American standards for easy return policies also feeds this.)

[barnhart]

I think we also have become accustomed to accessing cheap labor from around the world to the point we can't imagine paying real world prices. For example for a lot of furniture I produce, the raw materials cost more than a similar looking item in a store. If we want to go back to this economy we would have to dramatically reduce consumption. We would have to be content with one or two new articles of clothing per year, owning two pair of shoes, and just a few pieces of furniture that you keep the rest of your life.

[Neto]

I think we also have become accustomed to accessing cheap labor from around the world to the point we can't imagine paying real world prices. For example for a lot of furniture I produce, the raw materials cost more than a similar looking item in a store. If we want to go back to this economy we would have to dramatically reduce consumption. We would have to be content with one or two new articles of clothing per year, owning two pair of shoes, and just a few pieces of furniture that you keep the rest of your life.

We bought an oak table when we moved back up to the States, and got it from a distributor that sold China made furniture. But it's made of American Red Oak. I have heard that they ship the wood over to China, then immediately load it on a ship that has a fully equipped carpentry shop. It was said that they build the products on the way over to the US, then head back again. Somehow it qualifies as a China-made product, and this makes it cheaper?