Stepping into The Webb Boot Company customers will instantly be greeted by two friendly dogs and the store owner, Matthew Webb.
Webb, who created his solo-run business in 2022, moved his cobbler shop from the Slocan Valley to Tatlow Road in his hometown of Smithers in the spring. He creates his own work boots, particularly boots for wildland firefighters and forestry-related labourers. He also repairs any type of footwear that needs mending.
A small-business shop like this is rare to find, especially in northern British Columbia.
“I am the farthest north cobbler in B.C. and the closest place you could go to was in Prince George, but [the owner] is an old timer who closed [shop] recently," Webb said. "There is another guy in Quesnel who is still active, but that is a long way to go and it is inconvenient.”
Since relocating to Smithers, Webb is appreciative of how welcoming the community has been.
“It's really satisfying when you see somebody out in the wild wearing something you have built," Webb said. "It’s cool when firefighters come in here and they are wearing boots that I made or... send me a picture. It makes me want to keep doing it,”
With consumerism on the rise and fewer shops in Canada available to fix worn-out products, Webb is hoping to make a difference within the Smithers community.
“I am trying to [make] a product that is easily repairable, designed to be repaired and manufactured 100 per cent in B.C. A lot of other manufacturers have a certain portion of their footwear created in a different location, like the Dominican Republic or Mexico and a limited amount of the manufacturing happens in B.C.,” he said.
Webb’s passion for shoe making began as a child when he would help clean his dad’s boots after he came home from work.
“My dad was a forester. I remember sitting on the back deck and he would hand me one of his boots and I would stick my hand in the tub of Sno-Seal and I’d help him wax his boots. That was fun.”
His father also instilled in him the importance of fixing something you already have rather than going out to buy something new.
“My dad was always the fix-it guy. He would say, if it can’t be fixed, he’ll fix it himself, and the seed was planted,” Webb said.
After finishing school, Webb’s original plan was to have an outdoor store, as his other passions include alpine and backcountry skiing.
“There are a lot of [outdoor] stores around and there’s so much competition in that space. I realized I could make a goal of footwear manufacturing knowing that it is a smaller market in North America,” he said.
In his 20s, Webb lived in Nelson, B.C. and found a job working at Vince DeVito Shoes. This sparked an interest in creating quality footwear for men and women.
“[I worked] in a basement with a bunch of sewing machines underneath the shoe store and that is where I learned you could fix shoes,” Webb said.
Webb particularly set his mind to creating work boots for women.
“A lot of women end up wearing two pairs of socks and putting insoles in their boots. Or buying the smallest men’s size, which is not convenient or comfortable,” he said.
“Women in the workplace deserve to be comfortable and have the same durability and quality that the boys have enjoyed for the past generations.”
For now, Webb is doing all the repairs and shoe-making himself. He typically takes around two weeks to make a work boot and works on three to five sets at a time.
“Right now, I have 15 special orders for boots that need to be made. And trying to juggle [repairs and orders] is almost like running two different businesses under one roof,” he said.
“I can repair everything from Birkenstocks to cowboy boots to ladies' heels,” Webb said.
His favourite part of the job is the finished product and feeling proud of what he has created.
“It’s those finishing touches where I have the most fun and I do like working at my sewing machine,” he said.
“There are so many different steps involved in making boots and that is why I do it. I enjoy the variety and every day there are multiple steps, so I never get bored doing this job.”
Webb hopes to hire workers soon to expand his business.
“I have put a lot of time in creating the recipe and doing the design and research. My goal is to scale this business to a place where it is a production facility, so I can meet the needs of my customers, rather than be a smaller boutique.”
He hopes to hire someone who is equally enthusiastic about the job as he is.
“I can sleep well at the end of the day knowing that I worked hard to create something with my own hands.”
