The Guild of Master Craftsmen

Ingmans is a proud member of The Guild of Master Craftsmen

We're proud to be a member of "The Guild of Master Craftsmen" and we recently featured in their magazine, details below.

Repairing shoes has been Andy Ingman's passion for over 40 years.
Now he's passing it down to the next generation

BY JADE BEECROFT

Andy Ingman's vision is unwavering. ‘I want us to be the best cobblers in the land,' he explains. Since opening his own shop, Ingmans, which was ‘a dream come true' in 2018, he and his team have gone from strength to strength, using traditional skills to offer a repair service that can leave shoes ‘looking better than they did when they were new'. Ingmans, in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, also stocks sustainable footwear from high-quality brands, menswear and leather goods. Customer focus is at the heart of everything Andy does and now he's proud to say his 18-year-old son Sumner has joined the business and completed a full apprenticeship. ‘We're keeping it in the family,' Andy smiles.

A BOYHOOD DREAM

Andy was just a teenager when he had his first experience of working in a cobblers. His best friend's dad was a shoe repairer and Andy started helping out on Saturdays – initially working for free. ‘Me and my pal always hung around together, but one weekend when we were 14, he said he couldn't come out to play on Saturday because he'd got to help his dad in the shop,' Andy remembers. ‘I asked “well, can I come too?”. His dad said it was fine but he wasn't going to pay me.' Initially Andy swept the floors and made cups of tea while his friend's dad tried to teach his son about shoe repairing – but the boy wasn't interested. Meanwhile, Andy was itching to have a go. ‘I would pick up bits of leather off the floor and practise while no one was looking,' he laughs. ‘Eventually my mate's dad realised that I was showing more enthusiasm than his son, so he took me under his wing – and started paying me!'

When Andy left school at 16 his friend's father took him on as a full-time apprentice, and from there he got a job at a cobblers in Retford, Nottinghamshire, where in time he was promoted to a management role. He worked for a firm called Peters Footwear Specialists for 24 years, spending time at a franchise in York before coming back to his hometown Chesterfield. Then, in 2018, a premises near the iconic Crooked Spire building became available and Andy saw an opportunity to fulfil a dream and start his own business. ‘I remember standing outside the empty shop front with a mate, and he said, “I can just see you in here”,' recalls Andy. ‘I had a good feeling about it, so I took a punt. I have a photo of my dad standing outside the shop when we unveiled the Ingmans sign. It felt really good – it was a proud moment.' Andy's philosophy is ‘we are a product of what we put into life' and he says that when he opened his own business his efforts paid off. Friends and business contacts rallied round to help him make a success of it.

‘We use the best materials and the best craftsmanship, and often [the customers] end up with a better quality of shoe than when they were first bought.'

QUALITY CRAFTSMANSHIP

First and foremost, Andy is a master cobbler. ‘Even now, I still get a buzz when a customer sends me a text or comes into the shop to say thank you. It means so much to me,' he says. Customer satisfaction is at the heart of the Ingmans offering, and Andy's team includes senior shoe craftsman Darren Twigg, who has worked alongside Andy for years and been with the business since it started. Another experienced cobbler, Johnathan Booker, works for Andy part-time, and his wife Lizzie, who does the bookkeeping. Long-time friend Villa Webster has also been with the firm since it started.

Andy and his team ‘repair shoes the proper way' using traditional skills; and quality shoe makers in Northampton and London often send them work because they recognise the quality of the craftsmanship. That might mean re-stitching into the original holes, or wetting and preshaping soles before they are rebuilt so ‘when the customer puts their foot back in, it still fits right – it still feels like their shoe'.

Andy says it's vital to understand that shoes are precious to people. ‘One customer sent me photos of a battered old pair of deck shoes, and they were more holes than leather,' he remembers. ‘I rang him up and asked him “how deep is your love for this pair of shoes?” That's when he told me they'd belonged to his late brother, and he just wanted to walk down the beach in them one more time. I told him “I'm in. I'll do a great job on them for you.” That one was a real passion project.' Andy often tells his team that ‘our customers are like gold dust – otherwise we wouldn't have a business'.

Ingmans began stocking shoes and boots to keep the business sustainable. They sell quality brands like Loake, Trickers, Joseph Cheaney, Barker, Berwick and Jeffery-West, which Andy refers to as ‘repairable shoes'. He explains: ‘They are Goodyear welted, which is a method of shoe construction that makes them easy to repair. We make a point of telling customers when they buy shoes from us that they can bring them back to be repaired. When they are starting to wear, they are starting to become good friends.' Ingmans also sells fine gentleman's and ladies clothing from brands like Baileys, Giordano, John Vicktor, Mac Jeans, Olymp Shirts, Peregrine and Trapper, as well as quality leather belts and handbags.

COBBLERS TO YOU

When the first round of Covid lockdowns hit in spring 2020 and shops were forced to close, Andy and his team came up with an innovative new way of keeping the business going. They bought a van and launched Cobblers To You, a door-to-door and postal shoe repair service, with a website to match. ‘Most of our staff were furloughed but as the business owner I could still come into the shop and work alone, so I was the busiest I've ever been,' he laughs. ‘It grew really rapidly; we would arrange with customers to drive out in the van, then pick up and drop off their shoes from the end of their driveway. We sold our clothes and footwear that way too.' The postal service was also so popular that when restrictions eased, Andy eventually sold the van, but kept Cobblers To You as a postal shoe repair service, which is still thriving. ‘When your survival is threatened, you find out what you’re really made of,’ explains Andy. ‘Cobblers To You still gets a lot of traction now. We've recently launched a click and collect service. People get all sorts of things delivered to their door these days, so why not shoes?’

Despite not seeing these customers face-to-face, Andy works hard to make their satisfaction a priority. When he was contacted by a lady from the Shetland Islands, who wanted a pair of pink court shoes repaired, they exchanged messages and found a way for the shoes to be posted and delivered that wouldn't be too costly. Ingmans joined the Guild of Master Craftsman a year ago as another way of championing the quality service they offer.

A FAMILY FUTURE

Sustainability is also a big focus at Ingmans. ‘When you take a pair of shoes to be repaired, you’re making a decision to invest in them, rather than chucking them into landfill,’ says Andy. ‘We promote sustainability with the Ingmans Green Promise.’ And although Andy sells high-quality shoes, which is reflected in the price point, he’s not averse to repairing any pair of shoes that come in. ‘The shoes we sell in the shop are investments, but at the lower end of the spectrum, if a customer is attached to a pair of shoes and wants them repairing, we will always do our best. We use the best materials and the best craftsmanship, and often they end up with a better quality of shoe than when they were first bought,’ he adds.

Even after 40 years in the industry, Andy still likes to challenge his skills. He recently took on a special project to produce two leather panniers for a Brough Superior motorcycle, using a case mould baked in the oven and hand-stitching. ‘If someone brings us a project, we’ll certainly have a go,’ he says.

Father-of-five Andy was delighted to welcome his son Sumner into the family business. At 18, Sumner has already completed a full apprenticeship and Andy says he feels incredibly proud to be passing down his skills. ‘It’s all about him now – my dream is to one day be working for him,’ he laughs. ‘A few years ago I learned that my great-grandfather was a cobbler, so it feels great to be keeping it in the family and keeping those skills alive.’

I hope you enjoyed reading this post, and we'd love to hear from you.

Best Wishes,

Andy