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We now have the finalists who will compete at the Americas Championships of Shoe Shining 2026, taking place at the Chicago Super Trunk Show at Stitchdown Expo on Saturday November 7. There the three contestants will have 20 minutes to shine a shoe as glossy and lovely looking as possible. The prestigious contest is organised in collaboration with the premium shoe care brand Saphir.
The nappy surface of suede is very different from regular smooth leather, and people often seem to have less knowledge about some of its special characteristics. Two such things are the light streaks that commonly appear where the shoes bend, and how the nap can become completely flat after, for example, lying on its side in a shoe box. Here we explain why this happens and what you can do about it.
The past couple of decades professional shoe shining has lift itself to higher level, and become an acclaimed craft in itself. Not least in Asia this development has boomed, where one of those who’ve been part of the development is John Chung who runs the shoe shine bar and more Mason & Smith in Singapore.
One of the newest products in Saphir’s Medaille d’Or range is the Coated fabric lotion. While its developed for care of coated canvas bags like those from Louis Vuitton, it works equally great to treat shoes made of corrected grain leather, to help prevent the plastic coating from cracking and keep it better looking.
I sometimes hear from people that they wait with inserting shoe trees after they’ve taken their shoes off, to let the worst moist evaporate first. While I can understand the logic behind this, it’s definitely not what’s best for your shoes. Here’s why you should basically always insert your shoe trees straight away after use.
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The finalists in the two prestigious world championships contests, with finals taking place at the London Super Trunk Show on May 9, have been appointed. We’ll have two Japanese and a French battle it out in the shine final, and two Frenchmen and a Finn to fight for glory for the patina title. See their submissions here.
Boot Black is the premium shoe care brand of Japan’s largest shoe care manufacturer Columbus. A family owned company that dates back over 100 years, which in accordance to Japanese tradition always try do that little bit extra for the most demanding customers.
One of the most underrated products in Saphir Medaille d’Or’s extensive range is, in my opinion, their Nappa cream. It’s a product without solvents that only contains nourishing ingredients like jojoba oil and wheat protein, but no waxes, so it leaves the pores of the leather fully open. Ideal for many situations, for example when you want a fully natural patina to develop, for sensitive leathers, and for the often neglected but very important care of the leather lining.
Given that Asians have dominated the world championships of shoe shining, we’re in for a treat with the first Asian champs, with the final taking place at the Singapore Super Trunk Show on January 31. Now we can reveal the three finalists, who comes from Japan, Vietnam and Singapore.
A very common issue on shoes, both new and used ones, is that the half sock lining that is placed inside the shoe is coming loose so you get a flap that can be annoying. Here I explain why you have half sock linings to begin with, the reason that they often come loose, and how you easily can solve it.
