COLUMBIA – The Dickson Brothers shoe repair shop on Main Street counts among its customers South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, who brought in his Allen Edmonds dress shoes over the summer, and former Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin.
And now, largely thanks to TikTok influencers promoting shoe repair, owner Oakley Dickson, 47, said more young customers are coming through his shop’s doors.
“So, I have people come in here and literally say, ‘Hey, saw this on TikTok. Can you do that?’” Dickson said.
The shop at 1629 Main St. has been there since the mid-2000s after Dickson first opened it in Five Points in 2003. Shortly after the move, Dickson left to run an after-school nonprofit while his father ran the shop. He returned in 2023 after his father suffered heart attacks.
But after rejoining the business, Dickson shifted it towards “recrafting,” remaking shoes with higher-quality materials so the finished product, he said, can be “better than new.”
Although he saw a niche in recrafting dress shoes, Dickson was surprised by the demand for western boots, which he said often come from University of South Carolina and Clemson University students. He said the store sees USC student customers almost daily.
“You go to a Carolina game or a Clemson game on a Saturday,” said Dickson, linking the boots’ popularity to country music’s growing appeal. “The girls are always wearing western boots and their skirts.”
The influencers Dickson cites include Jim McFarland, known as “America’s Cobbler,” who has more than 1 million followers for his shoe repair videos on TikTok. A clip he posted showing boots resoled with high-end JR Graffiti leather soles and new green strips drew 37.4 million views.
Another popular request from students is recrafting work on Golden Goose sneakers, which are made to look worn and often cost $575 or more.
The shop receives shipped orders from customers in states including California, Louisiana, New York and Connecticut. It sources leather and sole materials through partnerships with companies in England, Germany, Italy, Spain and Argentina.
Despite its popularity with students, the shop’s main clientele is middle-aged adults, including bankers, courthouse workers and lawmakers who typically wear formal dress for work. Services range from $25 for basic cleaning or stitching to $400 for custom repairs.
According to market research firm IBISWorld, there were only 3,102 shoe repair businesses in the U.S. last year. That’s down from 120,000 during the Great Depression in the 1930s, McFarland, the influencer who also serves as a spokesperson for the Shoe Service Institute of America, told the Huffington Post.
Yet Dickson said shops like his help people save money by repairing leather shoes that can last for years in today’s “throwaway” culture.
“If you could invest in a nicer pair of shoes that you can keep for a lifetime and keep them conditioned and keep new soles on them, you’re going to save a ton of money over time,” he said.