My story began in 1988 under the watchful eye of Bob Downe at Speedy Shoe Service in Parramatta. In a short 6 month term I learned the importance of customer service as well as shop management. Having had the taste of the job I entered an apprenticeship at Falkingham Shoe Service in Bondi Junction where I worked under highly regarded industry leaders Frank Pinto and Rocco Reale. Here I was instill
ed with a high standard and pride in the job I did whilst being handed down the traditional methods of the cobbler. Whilst growing my DJ career I continued to work part time in several repair shops and this moving around gave me insight in to several respected tradesman’s methods, learning different ways and methods and gaining the ability to work them together to get a perfect result. With these new skills my career progressed to a full time job at Chifley Shoeworx where after a couple of years on the job I was repairing shoes for accounts with Gucci, Ferragamo, Prada, Louis Vuitton and RM Williams. I then moved to Carl’s Shoe Repair where he repaired mainly high end shoes for various celebrity customers. My last position in Sydney was running a very busy store in Town Hall Railway Station with two repairers assisting. In 2003 I relocated to Canberra and purchased Dickson Shoe Repairs which I soon renamed as Jhay The Cobbler. In 2012 along came our son Luukas and in 2013 my wife joined me in the business, although you won’t see her in the shop - she’s covered in paperwork at home! Our family lives close by in Ainslie and we take pride in providing an unrivalled service to Canberra and the surrounding community. With our love for the trade we offer the service both you and your shoes deserve.
