Story behind “The Shop with the Yellow Boot”

Guido Leunen was a cobbler and a shoemaker. In 1970, him and his wife Anne Marie(2nd pic) opened a shoe repair shop in Belgium. While he repaired shoes, his wife repaired jackets and bags. They had two kids and the youngest was Nico(3rd pic). Born a cobbler’s son he would come home from school and tell his mom about his day while she stitched on her sewing machine. Because his parents workshop was on the first floor and they lived on the second, Nico would fall asleep to the sounds of his dad’s hammer. After 47 years of his mom and dad running the shoe repair shop (last pic) they retired in 2017. This yellow boot was a landmark for his parent’s workshop. Nico brought the boot all the way from Belgium to hang in front of my shop. He also gave me his father’s apron. I felt overwhelmed with inspiration because to give your father’s heirlooms to someone else means a lot. It means I can’t let them down. I have to keep the torch burning.

CHEST MEASUREMENTS:

SMALL-19", MEDIUM-21.5", LARGE-22", XLARGE-24" 2XLARGE-26” 3XLARGE-28”

-4.3 oz., 100% combed ring-spun cotton

-Crew neck

-Set-in collar