Baltimore cobbler shutters his neighborhood store
The corner store seems innocuous enough; faded signs advertise above the crumbling plaster of a whitewashed exterior, which mask the flavor and heritage of photos, paintings and the warm smile of a man who still has a twinkle in his eye as he shares how proud he feels about having been a cobbler for 37 years.
Malcolm Spaulding, 66, received ten shillings to invest in the shoe repair service, trying to earn a living in his homeland of Kingston, Jamaica. He eventually moved to Baltimore, opening his business 37 years ago.
-
- The white-washed exterior of Malcolm Spaulding’s corner shop in West Baltimore Tuesday, Mar 5, 2013. The business he’s kept for 37 years ends March 15, when he retires and the building is prepared to be sold. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Malcolm Spaulding smiles outside his corner shop in West Baltimore. The business he’s kept for 37 years ends March 15, when he retires and the building is prepared to be sold. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Malcolm Spaulding attaches a heel plate onto a shoe at his corner shop in West Baltimore. By the late 1970s, Spaulding had his own shop on Pratt Street, until it was razed to make way for the Inner Harbor redevelopment. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Malcolm Spaulding is reflected in a wall mirror, next to the very first image he secured to the walls of his corner shop in West Baltimore. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Some of the many unclaimed shoes at Malcolm Spaulding’s corner shop in West Baltimore. A surprising number of customers never return for their shoes. Spaulding plans on selling his remaining stock and donating the proceeds to charity. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Malcolm Spaulding smiles, holding a leather folder and knife sheath that he made in his corner shop in West Baltimore. Spaulding’s sister spotted an ad seeking shoemakers willing to move to America. That is how he found himself in Baltimore, at 23, working for Selis Shoe Repair on Calvert Street. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Malcolm Spaulding stands next to a poster of legends of African-American heritage at the counter of his corner shop. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Heel plates hang near Malcolm Spaulding, who sits at the counter of his corner shop in West Baltimore. Even in the early ’80s, the forces that now threaten his craft loomed: the growth of the sneaker culture; the rising tide of cheap, Chinese-made shoes that make it cheaper to buy a new pair than fix an old one, and improvements in high-end, rubber-soled shoes like Timberlands that, Spaulding notes ruefully, are made to last. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Collectibles and photos reflect the character of Malcolm Spaulding’s corner shop in West Baltimore. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Malcolm Spaulding’s brushes, given to him by his father, are some of the few possessions he plans to keep after the closing of his corner shop in West Baltimore. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun Staff)
-
- Dust covers bottles of slipper dyes at Malcolm Spaulding’s corner shop. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A number of pairs of shoes await claiming at Malcolm Spaulding’s corner shop in West Baltimore. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun Staff)
-
- A sign greets customers on the back wall as they enter Malcolm Spaulding’s corner shop in West Baltimore. The business he’s kept for 37 years ends March 15 when he retires and the building is prepared to be sold. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Malcolm Spaulding is reflected in a wall mirror at his corner shop in West Baltimore. Spaulding has been mending shoes for close to half a century. He started around 1960 as a boy in Kingston, Jamaica, when his father told him to go learn a trade. Cobbling is what he learned.(Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
Changing locations between Fayette and Eutaw Streets, Spaulding finally settled at the 2100 block of W. Fayette Street, doing the one thing he enjoyed the most, sharing his work space with dozens of photos of family and friends, as well as many images of Bob Marley.
He has been proud of his work and craft, but Spaulding’s age, plus declining business and the lack of quality of shoemaking has compelled him to hang it up. “How much further can I go with all these responsibilities by myself? I’ll get out while I have the strength to get out.”
All kinds of unclaimed shoes from pumps to boots, sit on shelves throughout his store. If an owner fails to collect one’s shoes, they will be sold or donated.
A father of four girls and two boys and now a great-grandfather, Malcolm plans to return to his country to reconnect with the people he left, and then return to Baltimore and enjoy his family locally.
Baltimore neighborhoods
Baltimore street photographers
Year in review
Freddie Gray: protests, aftermath
24 hours with...
A. Aubrey Bodine
Viewing Baltimore from above
Valerie
Mar 11, 2013 @ 12:35:06
Malcolm’s Shoe Repair Shop is one of Baltimore’s finest shoe repair shop. Mr. Malcolm, I truly hope and pray that you will have a healthy, happy, enjoyable retirement. Thank you so much for all you hard work and pleasure smiles!!!! Good Luck and may GOD continue to BLESS YOU.