SOMSR 

After 94 years in business, the landlord owning the ground floor of the Empire State Building is giving the shoe repairers the boot. Beatrice Barbieri, 82 years old, has run the shop by herself since her husband died in 2004. The Barbieris were the fourth owner of Louis Shoe Rebuilders when they bought the business in 1992. Since then their rent has trippled from $3,000 to $9,000 a month at the same time as the shoe-repair business declines in demand. Since its begining in 19

It’s been in the news a lot recently that a steep incline of patients have been diagnosed with the condition Morton’s neuroma. Morton’s neuroma is an agonising condition in the foot where fibrous tissue develops around the nerve, which becomes irritated and compressed. This causes severe pain on the ball of the foot and at the base of the toes. High Heels or ill-fitting shoes are generally the cause of the condition. A neuroma is growth (benign tumour) that arises in nerve ce

​​ Hello there members of SOMSR! My name is Martha and I am the new SOMSR assistant. I'm fresh from college after studying fashion and footwear and sprouting up into the working world of shoe repair.​​ I'm here to update your online information and deal with all of your orders and I can't wait to help and meet all of you. Thanks for reading! Martha King

Perhaps I may be a little narrow minded when it comes to footwear. I believe in classic, well made and practical shoes that are not just aesthetically pleasing, but fit and last well. However most importantly, I feel they must serve the main function of a shoe - to protect and comfort the foot, while performing day to day or specialist activities. It's become more obvious that in high street fashion, designers and brands have been trying to reinvent the shoe. Taking originals

Flicking through the latest edition of the Cutting Edge magazine, I noticed the JR Competition to win Shoe Repairer of the Year. In the article they discussed the previous winner, what they're up to blah blahh blahh, all the usual interview stuff... except not quite. One small picture of the last years winner's recent work captured me - as soon as I spotted this small picture, I had to know more. I read the article and discovered the winners name was Al King, and he is young