Differently-abled get comfy, customised footwear

When siblings Pranavnath and Kishen G started Flying Cobbler two years ago, their intention was to empower the cobblers found on every street in the city. Because of bigger footwear chains offering in-house services, many cobblers were finding it difficult to sustain their work. This business model helps both parties — cobblers and customers. A few months later, they set up a workshop at their father’s leather manufacturing company with seven cobblers and an expert shoemaker. While going ahead with cobbler-at-doorstep service, Pranavnath met a few differently-abled people who were finding it difficult to get customised shoes of their choice. Sometimes, they don’t get the correct shoe size, or there will be some other issues. He discussed the problem with Kishen and the duo decided to offer services for the differently-abled, people who have deformities, those who have met with accidents and elder people.

 “Most households have older family members who find it difficult to walk in regular footwear. The case is the same with differently-abled people and accident victims who have feet injuries. After interacting with them, we identified their problem — they wanted shoes with a comfortable base that help them walk more easily. After discussions with our pattern designer and master shoemaker, we have finalised on the process to create footwear for differently-abled and senior people. Once they share their foot dimensions with us, we send our staff to their house to measure their feet. We don’t have any model constraints — they can even suggest models from high-endbrands,” he says.  

Since the launch of this new service a couple of months ago, around 50-plus people have made use of the service. “Designing and manufacturing shoes for differently-abled and people with foot injuries is not an easy task. We need to be very careful — we also have to keep in mind their medical needs as well. Some people will be having limping problems — in such cases, the sandals have to be lightweight,” points out Pranavnath.

Another service the duo has initiated is to offer affordable bespoke footwear for brides and grooms. “These days, everything is customised in a wedding — from wedding trousseau to jewellery, both bride and groom can personalise their style. In this service, we create footwear using the fabric from either the bride’s or groom’s dress. They just have to keep aside one metre of the fabric they are using for their wedding clothes, and we can create matching footwear out of that,” says the young entrepreneur.