Elderly shoemaker keeps working his magic

The months of July and August are usually the busiest period for Franklyn Town, Kingston, shoemaker Archibald ‘Pinky’ Davis, and this summer is hardly any different.
When THE WEEKEND STAR visited him at his business place earlier this week, Pinky was busy building a customer made shoe for a high school student. 
“I am fitting it up now and in a few hours, I will complete it. From start to finish would take me about three hours and on a regular day I would make up to five pairs,” he said. 
Usually, the gifted shoemaker does not have enough hands to make the custom-made  Clarks lookalike shoes, but, this year, Davis said the demands are a bit slower. However, the leather master said his hands are still full.
“The demand for these types of shoes isn’t so great this year, but I am grateful as I have reached my quota so far. I have stopped taking orders for now because I have about 17 pairs to complete before school starts. Some of the children tend to go with the Reebok and some other shoes that them call ‘Kickers’, but there are people who still want the original leather shoes because they last longer,”  Davis said. 
“I can’t make the type that looks like Reebok or Kickers because we won’t get the sole for those here in Jamaica. We have to work with what we can get here. There was a time when we have a lot of places where we could purchase material, but we barely have it here anymore. There are only two or three good places where you can go and purchase good materials for shoes now,” he added.
 While the Clarks lookalikes are among his clientele’s top pick, Davis said he also caters to customers who have feet defects or those who wear sizes that can hardly be sourced in shoes stores. 
“I don’t make special shoes regular. There are people who have defects on their feet. I have a customer who I have been making shoes for him from he was about 15 and now he is in his 30s. These special shoes are harder to make and could take me up to two days because of the size and the amount of material that it takes. I make shoes for people who wear size 15 and so on,” the shoemaker said. 
Davis, 65, is from a family of shoemakers and has been in the business for more than four decades. He made his first pair of shoes in 1977. Unfortunately, he said the trade may stop with him as his offspring and other younger folks do not have an interest in creating footwear. 
“I take up this trade from my father but my son don’t like it so maybe they are going to sell or give away the machines and tools. When I came here in about 1977, there were a number of shoemakers. On the road that I live, there was about five. Now there is only one shoemaker in Franklyn Town and that is me,” Davis said. 
Although his customers often refer to his creation as Clarks, Davis stressed that he is not copying the popular brand. He added that he is fully aware of the copyright infringement laws and usually reminds his customers that he does not make counterfeit items.
“I don’t make Clarks. What some of the customers do is to buy from me and then they will use the tags from Clarks and put on it, but we can’t do that as we will run into serious problems. Some people will sell them for like $15,000 but my  price is $8,500 to $10,000 especially for the children. It is already hard on a lot  parents, so I am not going to pressure their pockets,” he said. 
As he stitched pieces of brown leather together to create the final touches for a customer’s shoes, Davis smiled before stating that the real satisfaction of his work is not derived from the payment, but from the gratitude received from each client. 
“It gives me a great feeling to know that I am contributing to the children back to school and is not only shoes I make, enuh. I make leather belts as well  for students who go to Jessie Rippol and Alpha Primary as well as other schools. Mi feel good when mi see the children dem a go out and dem just look really smart in their shoes and just the fact that they will leave here with a smile on their face,” Davis said.  
As he spoke with THE WEEKEND STAR team, Shawn Davidson, one of Davis’ most loyal clients, took a break from work to get a leather slipper repaired. He swears by Davis’ work. 
“I don’t throw away shoes for years now because Pinky going to know how to fix it and make it new. From mi a go school Pinky a make and repair my shoes and now I am in my 40s. Mi see mi have a Converse weh make out of cloth that did a squeeze mi and the boss stretch it for me. Even when the cheese dem a go off mi Clarks dem, is him put dem on back and the shoes new again,” Davidson said.