The guy in Wuhan insisted on washing shoes by hand for 10 years
Because he likes to play with shoes, and seeing more and more friends who don't know how to deal with stained or damaged shoes, the young man in Wuhan came up with the idea of washing and repairing shoes.
From the original studio to the later offline store, Li Gen persisted for 10 years, during which he refused the invitation of a well-known brand and always insisted on his shoe washing business.
Play with shoes and become a small boss of washing shoes and repairing shoes
Li Gen is a native of Wuhan. From a very early time, he liked to visit various brand shoe stores on Jianghan Road, "chasing shoes like a star."
Li Gen said that he was in his teens and twenties at the time. Because he was obsessed with playing shoes, he quickly met a group of friends. Everyone wore their favorite shoes, imitated the actions on the advertisement, and had a lot of fun.
About 10 years ago, Li Gen found that his friends, including his own shoes, could actually wear them, but because of stains, everyone put their favorite shoes on the shelf.
"This is both wasteful and will drown the story of every pair of shoes." Li Gen told reporters that, in his opinion, every pair of shoes carries that particular period of youth, and he is reluctant to throw it away, and he will not clean it up if he does not throw it away. Why not How about cleaning these shoes?
If it is refurbished, at least the story of this pair of shoes can be retained.
After that, Li Gen began to learn the knowledge of shoe cleaning by himself, and learned to wash shoes by hand through online learning and consulting traditional craftsmen.
Feeling that he could "apprentice", Li Gen opened a shoe washing studio to sell his shoe washing and repairing service online, and became a small boss.
Shoe washing is a continuous learning process
In order to promote his shoe-washing skills, Li Gen first used self-media to "sell himself and boast" and posted the video of his shoe-washing process on the Internet to attract customers.
"At that time, the consumer group in Wuhan who used to wash shoes by hand was very small. My customers were basically from other places. They sent me the shoes that needed to be cleaned by mail. After I washed them, I sent them to the customer. Of course, I will leave a before and after comparison. file photo."
As he came into contact with more and more shoes, Li Gen felt that the knowledge he had initially taught himself was not enough.
"With the progress of shoemaking technology and the change of materials, shoe washing also needs to keep pace with the times." After becoming famous in the industry, Li Gen began to participate in exchange activities about how to maintain shoe materials everywhere.
In his view, shoe washing is a process of continuous learning. "Like other industries, if you can't strengthen self-learning and improvement, you will definitely fall behind the times."
Four years ago, Li Gen, who had accumulated a lot of experience, decided to start an offline business.
"Offline business allows me to compare different types of shoes more intuitively, and stimulates my desire to understand how different materials are handled."
The reporter noticed that Li Gen posted a fee table in the storefront on Li Huangpi Road, including decontamination, repair, renovation and so on.
Li Gen said that this charging standard is completely calculated according to the material, which has nothing to do with the cheap and expensive shoes.
"I'm actually good at cleaning and repairing leather, but even so, I have to keep learning. Otherwise, if a customer sends a pair of shoes, I tell the customer that I don't know how to clean or repair this material. Isn't that smashing my own brand?"
A pair of shoes really has a story
Li Gen told reporters that he handles at least 30,000 pairs of shoes every year. After a long time, he can generally observe some habits of customers through each pair of shoes. In addition, some very special customers hope to restore some commemorative shoes through him. .
"It can be said that now I see a story in every pair of shoes."
Li Gen introduced that the shoes that need to be cleaned or repaired are sent, and some heels are severely worn, some toes will be damaged, some soles wear unevenly on the left and right, and some uppers have wrinkles and so on.
After washing the shoes for a long time, the walking habits of the shoe owner can be at least roughly analyzed from these details.
In July last year, an elderly couple came to the store with a pair of shoes, hoping that Li Gen could help fix it.
"The old man told me that they bought these shoes when they traveled abroad 15 years ago and have never worn them. As a result, the soles are now debonded and broken. They want me to help them repair them as a souvenir."
Li Gen said that there are many such customers, some are wedding shoes repair, some are lovers' shoes repair, "but for those of us who play with shoes, no matter what type, every pair of shoes has a story."
Li Gen pointed to a pair of shoes hanging on the wall and said that it was a pair of shoes for disco dancing, and it was a shoe from the late stage of disco fashion.
"You look at its shape, the front is wide and the back is wide, the sole is hard, and it is not pure leather. These are all suitable for the characteristics of that era."
The reporter asked Li Gen, since he has been playing with shoes for many years, if he has considered joining a certain brand of shoes, Li Gen said, in fact, a brand store has approached him before, with a basic salary of five figures a month plus a commission, but he refused.
"The reason why I refused is because I like to deal with shoes, and I don't want to be restricted by a certain brand. I am a cleaning shop myself, and I can be familiar with and understand many kinds of shoes."
Text/Reporter Zhao Jiaxin
(Wuhan Evening News, October 11, 2022, version 08)