Notes & Drafts

Below are my (very rough) interview notes and initial pictures from the first sitting with Greg during his shoe shining service on October 12, 2013. Further below are my interview notes and pictures from the second sitting with Greg on November 16, 2013 and photos from my third sitting with Greg on November 23, 2013.


Interview Notes

Greg Snyder

Watch Shoeshine on YouTube.




How did you get into shoe shining? First thing family friend who used to be a world class baritone opera singer gave me a pair of his shoes. He felt they were slightly different sizes, so they hurt his feet. They were an expensive pair of shoes. Probably 17 at the time. Tremendous quality. Slip on, like a loafer, super high quality thick, rugged leather, thick sole. Neutral colored cream. Got me thinking about shoe care. Started to make some money. Needed quality black shoes, wear for 10-20-30 years. Things you can repair. Instead of $100 shoes, bought $200-$300 shoes. Needed brown dress shoes for going out. Buy first black suit, then a brown one, then a blue one for different occasions.

One of the boxes belonged to dad. Shoe shining tradition to get your dad’s stuff and you go from there. I started doing mine, do his, do a couple friends. Over a couple years, you learn the tricks of the trade. Went into the military, and of course, you’re shining boots and shoes. Did a couple of buddies’ shoes in the military as well. Always looking out for just that little bit better method. Many different ways to shine your shoes but they are not equal. Putting on waxes, how much water, how much rubbing it requires to really make it shine. Difference between a mirror shine and just shiny leather that’s not a mirror. Trial and error, experience. And then, of course, it gets complicated because you’re buying different shoes, you’re learning. You start running into different kinds of leathers. Buying smarter is one thing I’ve begun to master. Very hard leather, worked, processed, moisturized. Double leathered on the toes. On a soft leather shoe with a rubber soul require a whole different kind of polishing, cream and cream paints. Use normal. Really matters what kind on what kind of shoe leather. Even though I’m using cream, I still will use cream to moisturize and paste to make it shine.

Only half of his shoe collection is here.

Giving shoe advice. Stephen Cieslak rubs the inside of feet together.

Bought a new pair every year. Shining is a hobby. I’m like a chick when it comes to shoes.

What do you look for when buying a new shoe? I like shoes that are fairly form fitting, almost like a shoe handmaid for your own foot. Hard leather toes. $1000 for custom-made pair. Thicker leather, hard leather. The harder the toe, the more of a mirror shine, a lot less leather contortion. A hard leather soul. Can replace the soul if it wears. Almost like a really dense cardboard that looks like leather, but it’s not. Almost like particle board, cardboard. Not as quality. Zip souls, living in the NW, you want to go rubber souls bc of the water. Water and leather don’t mix. 24ish pairs of shoes he owns. Long-lasting shoes. Somewhat stylish but not very. New interpretations of old styles. Fashionable but that look contemporary. Pointy but not nearly as fashion pointy as they could get.

Go into dept store, look at shoes? Not if looking for quality shoes. They don’t have in stock the kind of shoe I’m looking for. Depends on the shoe. These days I have in my mind, I’m well versed in brand. What kind of material, what kind of life you’ll get out of shoes. Some you would never wear on a daily basis. If you wear really nice pairs of shoes, you would want two pairs and alternate. Not made to wear on back-to-back days. Put shoe tree in and dry it between uses. Once top leather is worn, can’t replace it.

Shoeshining at Mount Angel? 5-8 pairs a Saturday, sometimes more or less. $2 a pair. Business is brisk. Fiacre’s reptile shoes. Usually soft calf skin – cowhide. One of the theologians had cordovan leather. Horse hide. Same material as horse saddles. Extremely tough, lasts a really long time. Almost purply red look (natural color). You could go to five wars in a row, and those things would be amazingly tough.

Abuse of shoes. You’d think good Christian men would be less abusive. When it comes to shoes, they’re very violent, very abusive. I think everyone should be seeing Dr. Galindo about their shoe treatment.


First Photos























































Interview notes from second sitting

Shined Bishop Vann’s shoes. They needed them. I could tell when I got his shoes what he was expecting. Airport shoe shiners don’t even use cream. They use paste only. I knew instantly between what I did and his expectation. That’s why I like to educate people. It’s an important distinction. I can make them look like they were when they were new, but sometimes people want them to be better than new.

Soothing sounds of shoe shining. Repeat. ASMR effect. Have a good friend who says he gets that response when there’s very good service. Response at a barber shop, the click-click of the scissors.
Relaxing. Satisfying. Of course when I’m buried with shoes and under the gun, I find it a little less relaxing. Not much work for what seems to me a satisfying improvement.

Why is it important to have shined shoes? People often make quick assumptions for right or wrong about you and what you care about, how you carry yourself, if you value yourself. We wear suits bc it’s respecting the occasion. Wearing neon green high tops to a funeral is a problem. There’s a social reality.

Shoes same color as belt. Gloves should be the same color. Our American culture we will buy ten pairs of shoes over ten years instead of spend three times as much for a pair of shoes that will last not only 10 years but 20. Investing in and maintaining quality things is lost. In Italy, men will spend a lot of money on shoes. Shoes are worth fixing. Charles the prince of wales has been wearing the same pair of John Lobb shoes for 40 years. Re-soled ten times. Shined regularly. Part of a cultural attitude. In America, starting at about 1930, 1940, that attitude went away. It’s no longer part of our culture. We buy cheap shoes that are fashionable that become less fashionable faster. My tip is to buy at least one or two pairs of great quality shoes and to keep them and maintain them. Other shoes should be of less quality bc you beat them up faster.

Favorite shoemakers: Two that seminarians should know: Echo and Magnanni (Nordstrom brand), (Scarpi) Dibianco (traditional designs with a modern flair, traditional + 1), Bontoni (phenomenal shoes, tanks that will outlast your grandkids, will own a pair someday, magical things with the letter dyes, would be afraid to wear them), To Boot New York (of course!)(anywhere from $199 to $399, good quality shoe for the price, worth repairing). Spectrum from $100 to $1000. American makers: Aldon, Allen Edmonds.

Bass, Bostonian – good leathers, bad soles. Not dense enough rubber on soles. If you can get decent Bass shoes under $80, they’re decent enough.

Can be an investment sometimes, and the budget doesn’t allow.

Go to a store and listen to the commentary. Fascinating business. Pay about 100% markup based on quality.

Care tips: Get shoe trees. Will double the life of dress shoes. Leather conditioning. Leather moisturizer. Best thing besides polish. Airports are a great place for shoe shines. High quality shoes should never be worn on consecutive days. Otherwise the leather will never have an opportunity to breathe or to dry, and the leather will break down. Favorite brands of shoe shine products: Saphir, Lincoln. Saphir is by far and away the best stuff in the world. Cobblers have decent products. Shoe care sites have the best selection of the best products. Good shoe care can double the life of your shoes at least, even for low quality shoes. For people who have good quality shoes, and the shoes are built in anticipation of the sole being replaced. That’s why cobblers exist is for customers who maintain their shoes. But in America, it’s not part of the cultural norm.

Simple pleasure to have shoes shined. $4-7. I enjoy having shoes shined as much as shining them. Put your best foot forward. You look down first when scoping someone out. Having your shoes cared for and shined.







































































Photos from Third Sitting

Finally, I went back for a third sitting with Greg and took additional photographs, focusing on closeup images without using the zoom, which had made previous closeup attempts very grainy. We also staged a final picture with Greg and all his supplies.