Shoe Architects

I’ve had work done here 2 times before, no problem, hence the previous glowing review.
On Feb. 2014, I dropped off 1 pair of boots to be resoled, 1 pair to be stretched, and one boot that needed a tear fixed. All total $ 72 of work and a commute from Manhattan because I trusted them.
Circumstances kept me from picking up my boots until Jan. 2015. But I did leave a deposit. My greatest fear was that he wouldn’t be able to find my boots at all. The ticket says they are only responsible for 30 days.
Shoe repair places tend to look a little cluttered. This one was no different a year ago.
Now… It’s like a bad episode of Hoarders. Piles and piles of coats and boots, none in bags. It’s crept over the counter into the front floor space. I really started to worry my boots were just gone.
Amazingly, he found them fairly quickly, the whole time warning me they may be in storage. What storage??? The whole storefront is storage.
But guess what? My boots didn’t have soles.
«Can you come back tomorrow?»
«What??? You’ve had 11 months to do this???»
«Okay, come back in a ½ hour.»
I go across the street and fume in Starbucks for 45 mins. Because God help him if he’s not done when I go back.
«Hi, are you here to pick up?»
«I was just here. You were putting soles on my boots.»
«What’s your name?»
«???»
This guy must be brain damaged from sniffing the glue. I’m not being facetious. He should really see a doctor.
The soles look like they were just slapped on. He barely cleaned them up. The boots that were supposed to be stretched, God only knows if they were. They still feel tight, but I’ll eat that. What I will not pay for is the shit patch job on the boots. I could have done a neater job with frickin’ Krazy Glue. He kept trying to convince me he did the work. But screw you. You did shitty work and I’m not paying for it.
Since they don’t itemize anything on your ticket, and he hastily took off the masking tape tag, I only got $ 12 knocked off. Fine. At this point, I’m just glad to have my boots at all.
Like I told him, in front of the two other suckers that came in after me, I used to recommend this place and this is how you do me?
Never. Again.

I left a messenger bag with to this shop for stitching. I was initially told 4 days but it ended up being 4 weeks and myself going in 3 times and every time the same response ‘not ready’.
In my last attempt I was told to come back in a couple of hours but at this point I wasn’t looking for a rushed request. Rushed work equals mediocre work.
Thanks but no thanks.

I have patronized this place a few times over the years, as it is in a convenient location for me. I seem to forget each time how frustrating the previous experience was.
Firstly, without fail, he does not have your shoes ready at the agreed upon pickup time and expects you (at least in my case) to wait while he does the work. It does not matter whether he has a day with your shoes, or a month with them — they will not be finished when you go to pick them up. Secondly, he is very expensive for a Brooklyn location. For example, His prices are the same as Gary’s Top Shoe, which rents space in the Rockefeller Center Concourse, where I can only imagine the rents are a great deal steeper than at 339 Flatbush Ave, in Brooklyn. The actual work seems to be fine in most cases. However, it’s a bit unsettling to walk in to get your shoes and then watch him rush to get them done. So, instead of good, dependable craftsmanship, you get a rush job, very likely at the expense of good work. My most recent experience went like this:
–Went in on a Monday to get the heels replaced on my boots, which he had quoted over the phone would cost me about $ 5-​$ 10 for both. I realize that he can’t give an actual estimate until he sees the boots, but when I went in, he said it would be $ 20 and he would throw in waterproofing. I was very surprised at the price and said I didn’t need the waterproofing — would it be cheaper without? No, he was throwing that in for free. Since there was someone else waiting, and I didn’t feel like arguing, I just agreed. He asked me how soon I needed them, and I said I would come by at 2 PM that Friday to get them. No problem, he told me.
–On Friday, I arrived at 2 PM and handed him my slip. The boots weren’t finished — he needed 20 minutes, and asked if I could wait. I said I would have to come back for them (I had to be somewhere), and when I looked putout, he asked if that was okay. I said it wasn’t really, since I had told him when I would be by to pick them up and they should have been ready.
–I couldn’t get back to pick them up for another two weeks. Before picking them up this time, I called ahead and made sure that he had, indeed, finished them. When I picked them up, there were a few people in there, and I just took a quick look and handed him the $ 20. When I got home, I looked more closely. One of the new heels had been glued and nailed. the other just glued. Additionally, I have no idea if he actually waterproofed them (no reason to think not, other than a severe lack of trust). I called him to ask why only one of the heels was nailed, and he said he must have forgotten to nail the other. He said it would be fine, but that I could bring it back in and he would quickly nail the other heel. So, in essence, he did not complete accurately the very simple (in the grand scheme of shoe repairs) job I overpaid him to do. Now I have to go back AGAIN, which I will, but for the very last time.

I’ll start by saying I come here because it’s is close to my house. If there was another place within the same distance I would go there.
They guy that works here is mostly nice. A little to flirty at times but harmless. What sent me here recently was an overhaul of 4 pair of boots. The weather was changing and I thought lets get this done before my legs freeze. He quoted me a price under $ 60. I was ok with the price b/​c I destroyed all of my boots.
What I wasn’t okay with was being told to come back the next Friday for my boots and them not being done. I was told to come back the Wednesday and they still weren’t done. Ladies and Gentleman, it took over three weeks for it to get fixed. So my legs froze a little bit.
Will I go back. most likely. However, I will not take shoes that I need right way.

I’ve Unilocaled when things are good. I’ve Unilocaled when things are bad. Even when they’re just… meh…
But I’ve never Unilocaled because I was truly pi**ed off. What the F is wrong with this guy???
He’s always been overpriced for less than perfect work, but it’s close to home and perfect work means a trip to a neighborhood I don’t work in anymore so I’ve tolerated it. Not anymore.
I brought him a pair of Ugg boots that needed new shearling insoles and a pair of cowboy boots to be dyed. I went to pick them up the next week. Not ready. Went again after 2 weeks. Not ready. The fourth week he told me only the Uggs were ready. When he brought them out they were 2 different colors. What the F??? When I asked what happened to my boots he told me that’s how I brought them in. Right. Dark brown boots with bleached grey boot shafts. Mind you I only needed insoles. He told me he would fix them and to give him two weeks. I finally picked up both boots more than 6 weeks after I dropped them off. The color chipped off the pair he dyed after the first wear. When I put my uggs onthere were no insoles at all.
I went in the shop just to yell at him but decided it wasn’t worth the wait because one customer was screaming at him to «take his $ 20 and shove it up his a**». The woman behind her was in an argument with him because her boots weren’t ready (maybe he made her wait 6 weeks too) and she wanted to take them somewhere else… Except he wouldn’t give them to her.
Thanks shoe architects for overcharging me, wasting my time, flat out lying, and giving me back my boots in worse shape than I brought them in.

So after dropping off the two pairs of shoes on a Friday, owner told us to pick them up on the following Tuesday. Instead of Tuesday I went to pick them up on Thursday. Upon picking them up, guess what the owner said…“shoes are not ready”. I looked at him like WTF! The shoes were still not polished, taps and soles were not put on. This guy does not hold up to his word. He works very sloppy.

I am coming from picking up my shoes and am thoroughly disappointment in the service and quality of work. I went here last year and the work was fine so I was not concerned about coming back.
To preface the work, I now realize that I should have walked our when I first came in. The place is a total mess and they do give any care to the shoes that are being left for work. I mean people do not bring crappy shoes to be repaired only pairs that are worth the extra money keep up.
I spent $ 175 on 4 pairs resoled and one pair the insoles needed to be replaced. I went pack the first time to pick up and all of my ballet flats had gigantic treaded soles put on. I was completely in shock. After explaining to him that I did not want these soles and that I wanted the smooth to match my existing soles he tried to sand them down first! And then tried to argue that sanding would be better than replacing the sole since the new sole would be too thick? That was total bull s**t and I knew he only did not want to redo a job he did poorly. I brought my two pairs home to only realize the one pair that would need an insole never had the insole replaced and there was dried blood on the bottom! I had to take them back the next business day and he agreed to add the soles. This was a Monday and he said everything would be done on Wednesday. I can back today on Saturday. The ballet flats were fixed but he still had not put the insole into the shoes and when he pulled the foam pair from the wall I had to stop him to mention that he had removed leather insoles and was replacing them with foam?! After a little hesitation he put the leather in and pulled out the glue pot in front of me at the register. Then he had the guts to up the charge of the bill since he said he asked me if I wanted leather when I first came in — he did not.
After having to return 3 times with each time my shoes not ready on the days they said they would be, the soles were done incorrectly and the insoles were done incorrectly then being argued with about what I wanted, I have to advise EVERYONE to not take any business here.

I’ve been happy with the resoling work I’ve had done here. I’ve definitely had to wait longer than seems appropriate, had my items not be ready at the time first indicated, watched the staff poke through piles of shoes to find mine, et cetera, but given the general condition of service in New York altogether, what you find here is nothing out of the ordinary. The staff is sweet and the prices are on the high side, but I’m more happy than unhappy, and I know what I’m getting here. I’ve had cheaper resoling done elsewhere, but it looked awful and the quality of work was not as good as here.

the staff are friendly, but they throw your shoes in a heaping pile and every time you go to get them, you find yourself praying that they’ll actually be able to find them, then you wait five minutes as they ask you again and again what the shoes look like. then your shoes have a strange mark on them, or a creak that wasn’t there before. i went three times. the work was okay, but if you value your shoes, definitely NOT worth the risk and anxiety.

They are completely disorganized and don’t respect their customers’ time.
I dropped off a bag for a new strap and a zipper pull with some shoes and had to go back 4 different times over a month. Every time he kept telling me to wait 5 minutes. I would come back and it still wasn’t done.
This forth time when I came back a full week later after he said everything would be done, he first couldn’t find my bag (I saw it in a dirty bin) and then the work on it still wasn’t done (no strap or zipper pull!).
I told him to just give me everything even if it wasn’t done.
I will never go to them again.

I’ve given these guys a lot of chances, but I find myself on Unilocal today looking for a new shoe place. I’ve often felt like they overcharge for their work, which is a drag in and of itself, but the insult to injury is that they RARELY have the shoes ready when they say they will. I’ve had to go back two or three times to pick up items that were supposed to have been ready. It’s not worth raising my blood pressure over: I’m going elsewhere from now on.

I have been to them three times, mostly to get heels on my high heels fixed. I always get the sense that he’s over-​charging. This past time I needed the heel of one of my high heels re-​secured, and he quoted a high price. I gave him a look of shock, and he dropped the price, but not by much.
I was told to pick up my shoes on Tuesday. Came in Wednesday. He can’t find the shoes, when he finally does, they’re not ready. Can I come back later? I’m already 1 day past when you said they’d be done. I have a flight tomorrow and I need those shoes. Forget it, will try to swing by before I leave for the flight. Maybe the shoes will be ready 2 days after they were due?
Wish I could say it was the only time this happened — but the past two times it was the same story. Pretty high prices, when I came to pick up the shoes they weren’t ready, and they had trouble locating them (I waited for about 15m for him to find them).
The work is ok but for the disorganization, price and failure to have things ready on time, I won’t go back.

Why didn’t I read Unilocal reviews before going here =(Sloppy work and I had to wait 3 weeks. Initially they said one week when I dropped them off. I went back three times! Twice they were closed randomly, and once they weren’t ready yet.
I asked him to re-​heel five pairs of pumps, re-​sole a couple, and to polish them. They came out looking scruffier than when I dropped them off! I asked about it and he tried to sell me products to do it myself. Then he pointed out one pair he hadn’t re-​heelend and asked if I wanted it done. Umm yes, I wanted them all done! So I had to wait about 20 minutes while he did that and helped other customers. In the end I now have shoes with sloppy stitching, shoddily cut patches in the soles, and the same scuff marks I’d gone in with.
When I went in the first time, there was a woman yelling at him for literally five minutes. I should have taken the hint and left immediately but I was in a rush.
Not worth the $ 105 he charged me at all.

Brought in my Frye boots to have rubber added to the bottoms. I was nervous to have work done on my shoes but was very pleased with Shoe Architect’s service. Friendly, knowledgeable, on-​time service, good prices, and they buffed my shoes with mink oil no extra charge. $ 30 for the service seemed a fair price. The buffing did not take away from the natural distressing, only cleaned and removed scratches from the surface.
I will be coming back seasonally to have my shoes re-​rubbered. Phew! I’ve found a good cobbler, now if only I can find a good tailor…

Alex is extremely professional, will tell you all that is involved in what you need done, trained in Russia and very knowledgeable about many aspects of shoe repair/​leather work, including putting the very thinnest beautiful soles on fancy shoes, fixing leather which is cracked and dying, etc. I have used his business for years and would absolutely not go to anyone else, in spite of the increase in costs. There is no substitute for honesty and integrity.

Cheap, sloppy work. Not worth my time or money.

Terrible service. I brought my wedding shoes to get cleaned here and I am certain that they didn’t actually clean my shoes. First of all, they couldn’t find my shoes. It wasn’t until I described the shoe that they went in the back to look for them. All of the other customer’s shoes were given back in a bag with the receipt stapled to it and my shoes were just handed to me. When I asked what exactly they cleaned, because my shoes looked exactly the same as when I brought them in, the guy mumbled something and then right in front of me started brushing some of the dirt off my suede flowers. I inspected my shoes more carefully when I got home and I literally was able to clean some of the dirt off of my shoe with water.
I didn’t want to argue with the store because to be quite honest, I didn’t trust them to leave my shoes there again. Unfortunately, I will definitely not be going back there again.

Now, I grew up in Latin America so I understand lax standards when it comes to deadlines, but this place is ridiculous. I’ve gone in there twice to pick up some boots and every single time they make me wait 10 minutes to tell me that the boots are not done yet. Ridiculous. They don’t even seem to feel bad about it.

Oh they definitely say your name over and over again. Since my name is Sara, they called me Princess. Oh Princess, what you want done to your shoes?
And that’s well and good. What wasn’t– when I came to pick up the shoes (on the day specified) they scurried around to do some last minute work on them leaving me hanging around in their store for twenty minutes. They had also promised a free polish and waterproofing, but when the shoes were finally handed over they were dusty from the store without any sort of waterproofing. I don’t need any ‘extras,’ don’t lie to me and say things will be done when they won’t be. While I was there, I watched as a women waited because they’d misplaced one of her shoes. Imagine? What could you do with only ONE shoe. Also the pattern repeats, late with completing work, sort of overpriced, and flaky with the details.
Nice guys, sure, but I’d rather have competent work by professionals.

I recently saw the documentary about the people who build Steinway pianos-​pretty much all done by hand-​who will continue to do stuff like this? I feel certain that the guys who work at shoe architects laugh at people like me because a broken zipper on a pair of boots; a heel past its prime is a quandary but for them it is all in a days work.
My first visit was late in the summer I had a pair of now out of production converse one star slides that were nearly worn through the soles and a broken buckle on a pair of Boston style birkenstocks. The older gentleman asked me my name and stated it at every opportunity-​Eve, what do you want me to do? Eve you want me to replace this buckle? Eve are you going to leave a deposit? Eve come back next Saturday. The price for that job was $ 72-​seems kinda steep but like i said the converse they don’t make anymore I have had them for seven years and are pretty much my footwear of choice between memorial day and labor day. The birkenstocks-​I know you are supposed to only go to an authorized retailer but I already sent this pair to steppin birkenstock in PENNSYLVANIA. (a city of 8 million people and not one freestanding birkenstock retailer WTH??-PS I am not a hippie)
The old guy pulls me aside conspiratorially and shows me that they have birkenstock like soles to replace mine which although only a year old (replaced after a decade) are pretty worn. I give him a shocked look but clearly he has swayed many away from authorized retailers-​I tell him maybe next summer.
This week I bring my timberland knee high boots for a zipper repair-​the right one-​last year I had the left one replaced. The shoes were only $ 50.00 at DSW but I figure why not try to preserve them instead of the just throw it out and buy new ones mentality. (don’t get me wrong I am usually all about that)
They do a good job and stepping into this establishment you will momentarily feel high from the fumes-​an added bonus?