Shop of the Week - Relief Shoes

Do you have shoes, much loved and worn, that are getting too old and tattered to wear any longer? Frank Zervas says he can reproduce them exactly. People bring him pairs, sometimes inherited from parents or grandparents, and Zervas rejuvenates or copies them. "People are very happy to see the shoe alive again" he says. This master shoemaker came from Greece in 1974 and worked at first in Cleveland St, Surry Hills, handmaking shoes for actors and dancers. He has been running Relief Shoes in Marrickville for eight years now (and painted the murals on the walls himself) specialising in tiny and huge sizes as well as shoes for people with flat feet, deformities or bunions. He tells me how a ninety year old man, almost crippled with bunions, recently had a pair of walking shoes made. Zervas crafted the soft leather to perfectly cradle the knobbs and lumps and the shoes felt "like velvet". The old man cried with joy when he put them on! If you're in the market for personalised shoes then Zervas will measure your feet exactly and create wooden lasts just for you. You can then choose from a huge variety of styles (many surprisingly 'now' and fashionable) and a rainbow of leathers including snake, kangaroo, deer and lizard skins. Of course he does standard repairs and re-soling (of very high standard in my experience) too. I've been coveting a $250 pair of Camper shoes in a soft mulberry lately... I'm thinking about seeing if Zervas can make me a similar pair instead, and wondering whether they'll be better quality and more comfortable. I'll keep you posted.

Relief Shoes, Specialising in Orthopaedic and Fashion Shoes
16 Station St Marrickville
phone 9559 6550