Reykjavík Grapevine - jan. 2023, Blaðsíða 7

7The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 1— 2023
Daníel Magnússon (31)
Shoemaker (at Þráinn Skóari)
Lives in Kópavogur,
born in Reykjavík
Most recent music, movie, show, or
book that left an impression on you:
Mob Psycho 100. It’s this anime about
this little kid with mystic powers but he
doesn’t really believe in himself and he’s
usually just really occupied with elemen-
tary school social standings.
What other profession would you like to
try if there were no limits: Astronaut. I
wanted to do that as a kid.
Did you ever expect when you were a kid
that you’d grow up to be a shoemaker?
Not at all. I probably didn’t know it
existed. Well, yeah, I did. It was a story
I read as a kid, The Elves and The Shoe-
maker. But I never thought I’d be one.
What are your favourite and most loathed
types of footwear? My favourite is just
a handmade quality pair of boots that
do right by the foot. My least would
be mass-produced crap that costs like
10 euros and falls apart after a couple
of steps. It’s not environmental and it
messes up your feet.
What about actually working with the
shoe? That goes back to working on
quality shoes. Sometimes you have to
be a chemist with different shoes and
different materials. What bonds to
what? Do you need to get new materi-
als? It’s kind of hit or miss. I can kind
of suspect things, but it’s still kind of a
mystery. There are tons of materials used
in shoes and you have thirty different
soling materials. Some of those materials
are not friends! You gotta do a lot of stuff
to get them to work together. It’s kind
of a pain in the ass, but when you get it
done you’re like, “this will stay forever. If
I ever see that type of shoe again, I know
exactly what to do.” It’s fun and frustrat-
ing at the same time.
What does the footwear we choose say
about our souls? We were just talking
about that. I found this TikTok video
because [an employee] likes wearing
crocs and I hate them. The video was
describing different personalities based
on what shoes they pick, and it said
“Crocs: you see those little holes? That’s
where their dignity leaks out.”
Does shoemaking require having a foot
fetish? I can say that I have zero percent
foot fetish. But maybe some sort of
leather fetish. Not in a sexual way, that
kind of came out wrong! Not judging!
Like a fetish for quality leather.
Any notable customer stories you can
share? When I was an apprentice, this
woman came in really flushed in her
face, really red, looking down and said, “I
was wondering if you change zippers on
leather products.” And I was like, “yeah
sure.” And then she says, “this is for a
movie…” She was so embarrassed that
I was sure it was not for a movie. Then
she pulled out this full-head leather gimp
mask with a zipper on the mouth. She
said she had cleaned it. And I’m like,
“Yeah! Sure! Let’s do it!”
I also had one guy bring a whip that
needed to be sewn together. He said it
was for horses but, nah. You’re not using
that on horses!
Any final shoe wisdom to share? Spend
a little bit extra, you’ll save in the long
run.

Words: Rex Beckett Photo: Art Bicnick
Shiny, Shiny, Shiny Boots Of Leather
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