Read up on their story in the Vancouver Courier newspaper here and in the Vancouver Sun newspaper here.

“The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.” - Jonas Salk

Since 1995, The Quick Cobbler has won 10 Shoe Service Institute of America Craftsmanship awards, in categories ranging from Casual and Dress Shoe Repair, to Orthopedic Footwear Modifications. The Quick Cobbler has achieved the Canadian Blue Ribbon for Top Canadian and a Certificate of Achievement for Highest Standard of Excellence.

In 2013 The Quick Cobbler Staff won GOLD and BRONZE in the Bi-Annual International SSIA Silver Cup Shoe Repair Competition. In 2015 Ronald Nijdam won another GOLD and in 2017 Ronald won a third GOLD and his son Patrick Nijdam a BRONZE. This was followed in 2019 by Patrick winning a SILVER and Ronald winning the Robert DiRinaldo Grand Silver Cup (The top North American prize: better than GOLD!).

We also have won a total of 16 Shoe Service Institute of America, Business, Marketing and Merchandising awards, three of which were Retailer of The Year.

Awards are nice and shiny, but take a look at these Testimonials, and see for yourself, how we really put ourselves into your shoes:

March 2020

Brought in a pair of cowboy boots to get modified. The staff were extremely helpful and did a great job on the boots. Will definitely be going back.

Nick

March 2020

Excellent service. I mailed my 25 year old Blundstones in for resoling. I received a call the moment they arrived with a quote and an estimated ship date. I received them back in the mail on time, complete with a handwritten thank you card by Jess. Excellent quality Vibram Soles, better than the original. My big thank you Quick Cobbler!

William

February 2020

Researched for a cobbler that recrafts vintage shoes with JR soles, and found this place. Sent in vintage Florsheim shell cordovan shoes that needed a lot of work. Ron did fantastic work (recraft, new leather on heels and sides inside, and other fixing). I am very happy with the end result. The store is busy but that is a good sign!

Danny

February 2020

I brought in a pair of Blundstones: the sole was completely destroyed after wearing them for years and then storing them for a while because no shoe repair shop in Quebec wanted to repair them. When i moved to Vancouver I found this shop and I was happy to be able to prolong the life of my boots! They did a really good job and even if it's a bit pricey it's still better than buying a new pair (and let the other, which still had good leather, go to waste...). The service was great and the boots are like new!

Catherine

February 2020

Great work resoling my Red Wing Weekender Chukka’s.

Colin

January 2020

Great service. Did an excellent job repairing my dance shoes.

Jenvey1

December 2019

Fixed my motorcycle boots with new front sole and toe area. Better than new and great service. Saved me $250 from buying a new pair boots. Highly recommend.

Jay

December 2019

These brilliant craftspeople have saved my favourite boots (again) - this is how to keep things usable and save waste and also, to hang on to awesome boots - thank you!!!!

Cathy

October 2019

I sent a pair of Blundstones by mail to be re-soled. I was impressed by the care and workmanship shown by Quick Cobbler, which was refreshing in this day and age of disposable devices. In my view, Quick Cobbler is well worth the money and offers a valuable service!
With deepest gratitude,

David

September 2019

I brought my worn down hiking boots to quick cobbler and they did an outstanding job putting on a vibram sole to replace the worn out sole. It has been 2 years with regular and not so gentle use and the soles are still holding up! Quick cobbler extended the life of my expensive hiking boots and I am happy with the investment I made in their service. I recommend this cobbler to all of my family and friends.

Thomas

May 2018

I recently sent 2 more pairs of dress shoes for Ron and team to recraft. A pair of Dacks, and Royal Tweed by Cheaney.

The work was done on time. The soles were flush with the new cat paw heels. Ron even gave me a tour of his operations. There are many good reasons why he has such a thriving business with 10 cobblers.

I highly recommend QC for your shoe repair. And gentlemen - you can trust your finer dress shoes to this cobbler team.

Kenneth

June 2018

Very nice job on the flush mounted toe plates! These guys are the only ones in western Canada with enough skill and experience to pull it off. They do it the proper way, with screws, not with the cheap, nailed on crap everyone else uses. Highly recommend!

Stven

Testimonials

“The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.” - Jonas Salk

Since 1995, The Quick Cobbler has won over 10 Shoe Service Institute of America Craftsmanship awards, in categories ranging from Casual and Dress Shoe Repair, to Orthopedic Footwear Modifications. The Quick Cobbler has achieved the Canadian Blue Ribbon for Top Canadian and a Certificate of Achievement for Highest Standard of Excellence.

In 2013 The Quick Cobbler Staff won GOLD and BRONZE, and in 2015 Ronald Nijdam won another GOLD, in the Bi-Annual International SSIA Silver Cup Shoe Repair Competition.

We also have won a total of 16 Shoe Service Institute of America, Business, Marketing and Merchandising awards, three of which were Retailer of The Year.

Awards are nice and shiny, but take a look at these Testimonials, and see for yourself, how we really put ourselves into your shoes.

March 2015
Hi

I just had my climbing shoes resold last week and picked them up Friday in time for the weekend in Squamish. I just wanted to send a thank for the great customer service, getting them done in time for the weekend (when i know you were pretty busy and first told me you couldn’t have them finished until early this week), and for doing such a great job resoling them. I enjoyed two great days of climbing this weekend and the shoes felt great I even bust out into some run-out slabby terrain with confidence!). Thanks again and I will for sure take my next resole job to you guys and recommend you to other climbers looking for the job to be done well.

Lorraine (Squamish)

Location & Hours

We're at 430 West 2nd Avenue, east of the Cambie Street/West 2nd Avenue intersection, just around the corner from the Police station, and across the street from the Maynards Block.

Covered, pay parking is located in the building, at street level, accessible from the back lane. Also, there is metered parking in front of the store.

The Canada Line's Olympic Village Station is only half a block from our store.

Nearest bus stops are: in front of the building, bus 84 (UBC/VCC station), on Cambie street, bus 15 (Cambie/Downtown) and any bus with a stop on Broadway near Cambie street.

Our Regular Business Hours are:

Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm,
Saturday 9am to 5pm

Holiday Season Store Hours
Monday Dec. 24 - Closed
Tuesday Dec. 25 - Closed
Wednesday Dec. 26 - Closed
Thursday Dec. 27 - 8am to 5pm
Friday Dec. 28 - 8am to 5pm
Saturday Dec. 29 - 9am to 6pm
Sunday Dec. 30 - Closed
Monday Dec. 31 - Closed
Tuesday January 1 - Closed
Wednesday January 2 - 8am to 5pm

Closed on Holidays and Sundays (saving THAT kind of soul we leave to the professionals).

Come see us soon!

History

It all started in 1932...

with Derk Nijdam, back in the Netherlands.

No longer able to work as a firefighter, Derk found employment with his uncle, a shoe maker, and went to school at the same time to eventually receive his Diploma Master Shoe Repairer.

Derk's son, Anne ('Ah-nuh') Nijdam, followed in his father's footsteps and in turn, his son, Ronald, did the same. Ronald immigrated to Canada and The Quick Cobbler Ltd. has been a fixture in Vancouver since 1984.

We keep busy doing repairs for local Vancouver customers and also do a lot of Mail Order Shoe Repairs with customers from New Brunswick to Alaska to Hollywood. Quick Cobbler is an authorized repair centre for many leading manufacturers of sport, dress, professional and casual footwear. The Quick Cobbler team is also on-call to the theatre production, television and movie industry for repairs and some really interesting footwear modifications.

The FOURTH generation, Patrick and Thomas Nijdam, Ronald’s two sons, are also part of the Quick Cobbler Team, both working at the shop since they were teenagers. With a wealth of experience, The Nijdam’s have establish The Quick Cobbler as THE place to get any, and all, shoes repaired expertly. Starting with a shop the size of a walk-in fridge, Ronald has grown The Quick Cobbler, now encased in a large store front, employing 12 shoe repairers.

Striving to grow, while offering the same high quality service experience, Ronald has now created two additional divisions of The Quick Cobbler: Northopedic (orthopedic shoe modifications and repairs) and SHUZ Canada (custom, handmade shoes, designed and crafted in-store).

The Quick Cobbler Ltd.,

Fourth Generation Craftsmanship, Quality Shoe Repair since 1932.

Quick Cobbler Ltd. is a member of the Pedorthic Footcare Association, and a charter member of the Shoe Service Institute of America.

The Cobblers

RONALD

Ronald is the owner of The Quick Cobbler Ltd., Northopedic, and SHUZ Canada. He is a 3rd generation shoe cobbler, born in the Netherlands where he started working in the shoe business in the 1970's. A few years ago, recognizing the talents of his Quick Cobbler staff, Ronald started teaching 'shoeschool' on Saturday mornings, where interested staff members work on designing and making their own footwear designs.

PATRICK

Ron's eldest son Patrick, is a Fourth Generation Cobbler and Shoe Maker planning on continuing Ronald's legacy. Finishing his final year of his BBA, he plans on expanding his knowledge and experience past the already accumulated 10 years at The Quick Cobbler. Patrick is an all around skilled and creative problem solver who very much enjoys the challenges presented by The Quick Cobbler's customers.

	THOMAS
	Ronalds youngest son Thomas, is a Fourth Generation Cobbler who prides himself in his artistic and creative abilities. Studying Film and Photography, his life is surounded by artistic outlets that transfer well into Shoe Repair. He loves design challenges and detailed work, while still being able to produce high quality repairs. Thomas has worked for his father for over 5 years now.

	SERENA
	Serena has a background in textile design, and Art History. She was taught how to hand make footwear first by Ronald Nijdam (Owner at the Quick Cobbler Ltd.), and has been employed at the company for several years. Recently she started making children's shoes with a company in the United States, and is looking to expand into adult footwear. Serena likes to design beautiful, functional footwear.

	BRENDA
	Brenda has been in the shoe repair business since 2010 and quickly learned the art of hand-crafting footwear. She has extensive experience in textile related work ranging from fabric to felt. She focuses on modern designs with a vintage style.