These elastics had been replaced twice by another repairer. Which had lowered the customers confidence and added a lot of extra holes in the leather which makes it weaker.
Catherine our customer lives a long way away so we did the measurements via emails. Great job Catherine at understanding my sometimes fuzzy instructions and she is clearly adept at using a tape measure.
Lastly I made the call to cut the last 5mm of each strap off to do away with the messy old stitch holes. This meant adding extra elastic for the amount removed. On top of that I felt our elastic was a bit too stretchy for this job ... so used 2 layers and offset the ends to avoid a bump in the strap.
And sorry forgot to take an after photo.

Our customer kindly supplied an after photo.
And further commented
10 out of 10 thank you, in all areas.
Had my doubts as to whether you would be able to fix them after others had had an attempt, so am 100% happy with the results.

Regards
Catherine 

Good afternoon Shane,
My shoes arrived today, thank you so much, professional job, and fit perfect.
I am happy as.
Thank you for the extra service, paper to support toe area, and the crunchie, yum, also the return of my pillowslip that I used as packaging.
Kind regards
Catherine - Whangamata

While we specialize in repairing shoes it's sounds wrong for a shop like us not to cut keys. It is expected that Shoe Repairer and Key Cutting goes together.

We cut standard house keys and a few car keys that don't have modern anti theft transponders in the head of the key. If in doubt bring it in and we will check it with our transponder checking gadget.

While we do not offer a transponder key replacement service ourselves. When I need a new car key with a transponder I call three places for a price before leaving home

1.   The dealer eg Toyota, Ford etc 
2.   Tony at Zanden Locksmiths
3.   Shane at The Locksmith Guy

Additional questions to ask

1. How long is the key guaranteed?
2. Will the key do all the things my original does, like open the boot.
3. Will the remote etc be a separate thing to have on my key ring or built into the key head.

There have been other cheaper place that I've had people try but they have often had to go back 2-3 times to get it working properly.
​

Back when shoes were very expensive and built to last for many years. People owned fewer shoes and they were mainly leather soles. Toe plates were a readily replaced item that  helped  protect the vulnerable leather at the toe area.
As shoes became cheaper and started having thinner rubber soles toe plates became harder to fit and became less needed as the rubber wore much better than the leather ever did.
Fast forward to 2000 and almost no one asks for toe plates to be done and most shoes just don't have enough soling to nail to.

There has been a slight increase in requests for toe plates due to a small number of customers buying more traditionally made leather soled shoes and wanting to wear them on todays harsh payments. 
Toe plates that have been installed with care by a quality craftsman make a great addition to already remarkable footwear.
We have a limited selection available. You may also be able to buy them up online.

This is the first attempt at this style of toe plate and it took a surprising amount of time.

Fresh comfy Birkenstock soling on some old favourites 

You can have the entire sole replaced or just the worn heels and or toes. The cork footbed can be repaired or replaced.

You'll find us in ​Piccadilly Arcade, 44 Grey St, ​Tauranga
Our shop is at the Grey Street end of the arcade, beside the Lotto shop.
While we do prefer the owner drops the repair off we understand this is not always possible. If you have someone else dropping them off it is a good idea to write a brief note with your mobile number and what it is that you want done.

You are welcome to use your normal courier or click the link above to find your nearest Post Shop.

While you can send them straight to us and we will call you with a price and arrange payment. You can work out a price and pay online using the button below.

At around 9 years old ... back when I wanted to be a saddler. My Dad brough me home a pair of Birkenstock knock offs from overseas.
I loved those little blue beauties. Even when on week 2 the uppers started to split and cut into my feet.
My Grandma must of shown me the basics of hand stitching, as I remember sewing the splits back together and getting a few more wears out of them before they split next to the splits. 
So I understand how attached people get to their Birkenstock footwear. Especially when they have owned them for many years. Heck I'd only had my knock offs for a few weeks and that was 34 years ago and I'm still talking about them.
The next time I was exposed and yes exposed is the right word. Was when my brother returned from Holland with a pair he had been wearing on the dairy farm where he worked. I still wonder how they got through customs ... and he wanted me to fix them!
As Kiwi's we are used to gumboots for wet and dodgy conditions. You can only imagine what happens to leather and cork that has been worn in water and umm other greener liquids! 
Anyway we ground off the rotten bits of cork and replaced it with foam like sneaker midsoles are made from. Then glued a new sole over top. They lasted for many more years.
Since that time we have resoled over 100 pairs and have access to replacement Birkenstock cork, Birkenstock footbeds and the original Birkenstock soling. We even have replacement Birkenstock ​buckles. 

Hi Julie
In fact, maybe your Favorite Summer Shoes are jammed away in the bottom of your wardrobe ... or are dying of heat exhaustion while sliding around in the back of your car?

    Want to cut to the chase now ... bring your shoes in or book shoe repairs online.

Let's get back to the story ... your car, the toes getting scuffed down to the leather with every jolt in the Tauranga traffic. The right heel is probably worn through to the metal pins (can make a pretty cool sound on tiles, but not much grip), and the elastics are badly overdue for replacement. And let's not discuss what those scuzzy insoles look like.
But you can’t help but love them because you bought them in that special place with that special person, right?

And why not? You can never have enough shoes?
Well, I’ve got good news Julie, because we are itching for summer to arrive as much as you are. Hooray for holidays!

We have been getting elastic, leather and buckles sorted for the upcoming season.
That means that you can bring your favourite summer sandals in to us this week (pop them in your car now so you don’t forget ... unless they are still in there from last summer of course!).

Mention this email for a FREE upgrade to Premium service, this means you get your repairs sooner and we’ll give them such a polish you’ll need your sunnys on to avoid retina damage the next time you walk down the street.
How about you bring them in tomorrow morning Julie? We open at 9am.
Our shop is at the Grey St end of Piccadilly Arcade.
Will I see you tomorrow Julie?

Please reply to this email with questions and comments ... the funnier the better.
​
Kind regards
Shane Barr

Left zip has yet to be replaced. Right zip has been replaced wih a 9 coil YKK zipper and matching locking slider. 

You can book your horse riding boot repairs online or bring them into our shop.

Tight shoes can make for a really long day. We have tools and machines to help relieve the pressure. 

Good idea to wear your shoes around before bringing them in to get a clear understanding of which foot is worst and where abouts it hurts most. Also consider the areas that are just a little bit annoying. As once you have the main areas sorted these secondary areas will bug you.

When you drop them into us we will talk it through with you and either mark the problem areas with removable silver pen or use low tack masking tape.

When we put your shoes on the stretcher we can add bumps in certain places to add extra stretch. For example on your big toe tip, bunion or at the heel.

RMs take a thrashing. They quickly become favourite footwear. Often people wear through the soles before bringing them in. A lot of our customers ask us to replace the leather soles with rubber so that they get better grip and last longer.

Comfortable shoes with uppers with plenty of life left in them are well worth resoling. These MC's have had new heels and protection soles. Vibram dupla on the heels and Vibram 1.8mm soling on the soles. Both of these products wear well and have great grip even in the wet.

​"100% Shane! Love your work :)" 
Michael