Where are all the “craftsmen”?

When I mentioned what I was going to title this article, my editor said, Sears and now Ace Hardware. I informed him that I was not speaking about the brand of tools that has been a part of the Sears company for generations, but rather the dedicated artists who repair “stuff” like the true artists they are! In our modern world, it seems that everything is just replaceable. Why fix it? Just dump it and buy a new one. First of all, that can be very costly and secondly, the Quality of the items being manufactured today are not up to the standards of “yesterday”* ( yesterday means a while ago for you younger readers).

I am concentrating on leather, well, in reality – shoes, for this article. Jane is constantly on me for allowing my shoes to wear down or scuff. Living in our weather does play havoc with leather as the salt used to clear snow and the dust we have in and around doesn’t allow the leather to stay new-looking. But what can we do? There are very few show repair shops left. In fact, in searching the internet, most of the ones that are given out to use are no longer in business, or always closed. I find it hard to believe that a business owner would pay rent and utilities to have a shop, and yet, never be available. I have driven around for days having no luck.

Today, was my lucky day. By accident, I found that the Buffalo Grove Euro Experts had moved to Arlington Heights, not far from my favorite morning coffee spot, the Continental, so I went south on Windsor to Palatine Road and found myself going through the door of 1411. There I was greeted by Gary Belot, a gentleman who is what I might call a leather artist. He does work for most of the leather stores that are still in business and I think, based on our conversation, he strives to exceed the expectations of those he serves. I left my scuffed shoes in his capable hands ( after all he has been doing leather work for over 30 years), and will pick them up on Saturday, when I will post a picture of what he promises me will look “brad new” ( as brand new as an older pair of shoes can be). The true test, of course, will be how Jane and my grandkids react. If they like his work, I have a closet full of older shoes that I have not been able to wear and do not have the heart to toss. So Gary, be prepared!

The name of the shop is Euro Experts and they are known for leather, fabric, fur, shearling repairs and alterations as well as shoe repairs and other leather repairs. Gary is a European artist, a custom tailor, with expertise in tailoring, alterations, repairs and restorations. Leather is something that came later. He saw the need and is filling the void. Based on my conversation with him, I would have to say that if you bring it, he will repair or restore it!

Euro Experts is located at 1411 E. Palatine Road  ( hard to get to, but worth the trip)  847-465-1451. They open a bit later than most retail shops, but the work is the best I have seen!