Exploring Liverpool doesn’t always mean visiting the endless beautiful iconic landmarks, strolling around the multitude of scenic parks or indulging in the culture and arts, Explore Liverpool is also about the amazing fascinating and captivating people that make this place one magnificent city. One person that caught our eye recently was Keith Harris, the face behind Shoe Shine Project a unique shoe shine business based in the city. We caught up with Keith to delve a little further into his engaging brand.
Hi Keith, first off can you give us a little bit of information about yourself and why you took this profession up?
I am a local lad, born and bred in Liverpool until the age of 22. I moved out the city living in London, Whitchurch and eventually moving overseas in Asia in 1994 – 2016.
I established the Shoe Shine Project after being made redundant from corporate life in 2017.
You offer a unique shoe shine service based in Liverpool, how did the idea for the business initially come about and how long have you been in this profession?
The idea came about whilst on a fishing trip with my brother, I’d been pondering of what to do in the next stage of my life when the idea of shoe shining, and leather care services came into my mind. We now refresh, restore and rejuvenate shoes, training shoes and bags. I could say I’ve been cleaning and polishing shoes all my life (ex soldier and shoe lover) but professionally now 1 year.
What types of shoe services do you offer & how popular is the business in the city?
We cater to a number of needs through providing professional cleaning, polishing, shining and rejuvenation services at our drop off points for the below:
Bags
Boots (Military, Riding and Shooting)
Equestrian Leather’s
Shoes – All materials
Trainers – All materials
It’s now becoming popular and we now have 2 chairs and drop off points for our clients within the city centre – Crown Plaza Hotel and The Barbershop on Dale St.
We also cater for the corporate sector and partnership with then in various other services. Please see our website www.showshineproject.co.uk for details.
Trade Show’s – Lead generation service
Events – Groomsmen Service
Office Visits – Visiting offices in the city
From looking at your social media quite a few local celebrities and sports cliental head to you, can you confirm some names and who are regulars?
I don’t have regular local celeb’s/sport star’s, but I attend lots of events where the local celeb’s are invited. e.g. fashion house launchers, charity events, bespoke tailors, latest car launchers, private membership clubs events etc..
I had a host of ‘sports star’s’ in the chair over the course of the year – names would be Ray Clemance, Jamie Carragher, John Aldridge, Steve McMahon and Dominic Calvert-Lewin also had Suggs from Madness and Big Joe our Mayor to name a few.
What is the age range on the cliental you have, and would you like to see more of the younger generation paying a visit?
I operate a drop off point in a Barbershop on Dale St, I guess the client’s ages vary from 25 and up
Drop off point in hotel, I’ve had a 7-year-old girl and a 86 year old guy
Trade Shows – age varies from 45 – up
I would like to see the younger generation paying me a visit – perhaps just to clean and re-fresh their expensive trainers.
What are the price ranges for your services?
Our pricing varies depending on the item, damage/condition.
For our premium shoe cleaning we start at £5.50 if leather, suede starts at £7.50. We also do cobbler service for soles and heels. This can start at $15 > £60 depending on desired quality of leather
Or boot service starts at £15
Bag starts at £15
Trainers/smart casual start at £7
Trade Shows – We have day rates
Events – Depends on the event, we customise our prices
Can you confirm the locations where we can find you?
Crowne Plaza Hotel, city centre
The Barbershop 64 Dale Street
For further information on Shoe Shine Project visit www.showshineproject.co.uk
Follow social media @shoeshineproject
