Transcript
Speaker: Free audio post-production. BioPhonic.com. so So for review for the audience, what would you say are the three steps to shoe care?
Speaker: I think, you know, we're fortunate enough to break it down and into the three steps when we were meeting last week. So I like to break it down to cleaning, conditioning, and shining. Welcome to the Fashion Geek Podcast, the show that helps you learn more about men's fashion and get some tips to help you dress your best.
Speaker: This is Reg Ferguson, Fashion Geek number one, and I'm a men's fashion consultant here in New York City, born and raised. My mission is to help you learn more about men's fashion so you can become fashion confident.
Speaker: Do you wear shoes? How often do you polish them? Do you feel you take good care of them? Do you have shoe trees? What's the oldest pair of shoes you have?
Speaker: Are they in good shape? Do you wear leather shoes? Do you wear suede shoes? Do you wear black shoes? Do you wear brown shoes? Do you have two-tone shoes? Do you wear white shoes?
Speaker: Are you willing to spend a lot of money on your shoe care? My guest, Jason Dorn of ShineYourDangShoes.com is here on the show because he is a professional shoe shiner and the creator of his own shoe care line.
Speaker: So if he teaches you a new way to shine and take care of your shoes, would you be fashion confused? I definitely was at first. Or would you be fashion confident?
Speaker: Shine them up. Hey, if you ever found yourself staring at the closet, not knowing what to wear, if the idea of shopping for clothes makes you feel physically ill, wait till the end of the show and I have something for you.
Speaker: But for now, let's get to the show. Yo, today we're gonna talk with Jason Dorn, aka Dornstar, who is the founder of ShineYourDangShoes.com.
Speaker: And we're gonna talk about something the everyday man should have an interest in. How important is it to take care of your shoes? Jason in the building. How are you, man?
Speaker: What? Great. Good morning. yeah Good afternoon. no high side Morning on your side. And you're live. Doing great, man. In Denver, Colorado.
Speaker: That's correct. I'm here at Scissors and Scotch where I spend my time shining through the week. um Monday through Friday, 12 to 7 in the Greenwood Village area. That's a cool name of a business.
Speaker: It is. It kind of rolls off the tongue. And I think the more scotch you have, it might kind of slur a little together. but but So we before we go into our topic, please tell us.
Speaker: So what do you do?
Speaker: I am addicted to shining shoes. I shine shoes for a living and it's something that I also love to do. So I've been shining shoes for about a decade now and I've been in the shoe industry for about 20 years.
Speaker: um So I love it. I love every part of part of it um and I'm just very fortunate to still be doing it. Yes, you're back. So before we go into our topic, please tell us.
Speaker: So what do you do? So what do you do?
Speaker: so what do you do So I shine shoes Monday through Friday, and hopefully if I get busy enough, sometimes I shine shoes on the weekends at home. I'm here at Scissors & Scotch Monday through Friday in Greenwood Village 12 to 7.
Speaker: um And it's something that I love to do and very fortunate to still be doing it 2025.
Speaker: Well, we met at a shoe event. We certainly did.
Speaker: Here in my backyard in Brooklyn, New York. That was It was a very cool space, right? So that is an area called Sunset Park, and that is a complex called Industry City.
Speaker: And we met at boot camp. So did a bunch of push-ups.
Speaker: A bunch of burpees. I don't remember that. But what I do remember is we saw each other before not even knowing that we would meet again and a seminar that you taught.
Speaker: You taught a seminar on suede upkeep, suede care. And I am the owner of some suede boots. And I was eager to learn and understand, hey, can I take my shoe care to the next level?
Speaker: But, you know, we literally met each other in passing. Just checking in first thing in the morning. It was crazy. Just saw a sharp dressed man and I took notice.
Speaker: I felt the same way. So we we had an energy together. We had a vibe. And now here we are months later, you know, doing this call and couldn't be more pleased.
Speaker: But I have to share with you, along with the audience, whether you're listening or seeing this. Over the past week or so, you have really re-educated me on shoe care.
Speaker: And I literally took a whole bag of Kiwi products and put them over near the garbage room just in case if someone wanted to take them. i just And my point is this. My late grandfather, who I watched like a hawk,
Speaker: taught me how to shine my shoes. And Kiwi was the product. I mean, I think if you live in the USA, that's your product. And for you to teach me that there's a whole new world out there for products, for techniques,
Speaker: I can't believe, i can't believe, you know, that this is happening, but I'm happy that it's happening. Well, I'm learning still every day. you know I still try new products every day. And first of all, I'm very honored to share what I know with you on multiple occasions in real world and also recently um through our chats.
Speaker: um But I think it's you know like we've emphasized so many times, just keeping it simple. Unless you're going to use products, um maybe don't use too many products. um So I think we've kind of emphasized in our chats how important it is to just kind of keep it simple.
Speaker: and less is more.
Speaker: Well, that adage is used for so many things here in America, right? But I have to really tell you, after attending your seminar and also ah Levi's, the current shoe champion, he was doing soft leather, right?
Speaker: That's what all the participants, that's all we were saying, like, ah Less is more. Like, I know I grew up not necessarily c clopping things together, but just going, hey, got to put some product up on here. And all right, let's shine her up.
Speaker: And to me, your way is 180 degrees different from how I grew up. So that was really one of the major points of re-education. Also, using my fingers, particularly my middle finger, which I'm not going to give anyone here on camera.
Speaker: Would you like to explain to the audience really the importance of utilizing product on one's fingers ah versus cloth, a dauber, et cetera?
Speaker: Certainly. Yeah. I think, you know, from what I've learned from my colleagues, Stephen Skippen out in London Gazziano Gerling kind of emphasized when I was trying to learn the art of mastering the mirror shine and is using your bare fingers, using your hand, using your palm, heat.
Speaker: of your hands and just also the touch. You know, when you're wearing gloves, when you're applying it with a brush, when you're applying it with a rag, you're losing that connection with the leather, with the shoe and that touch, that feel, that kind of, um, that touch that you can get on, on feeling where the leather is at. If it needs a little bit more cream and oil, or if it needs a little bit more wax, you can really kind of decipher those those little indio like syncretes of, I've probably looked at that word, apologize.
Speaker: Yeah, you did. It's okay. Yeah. But, but, you know, you can kind of pick up on those little differences with your, with your finger, with your bare finger and your bare hand versus using an applicator. Uh, so in this instance, you know, applying, uh, what we did was condition your boots, your old, um,
Speaker: your old Chelsea boots with some pure yeah leather and conditioner, ah cleaner and conditioner from PurePolish. And, you know, something to say that you don't have to worry about. you know, you can get in there and use your bare hands and apply it.
Speaker: um But not only kind of focusing on those small areas that you're applying it, you can get that touch and in the area on the top of the sheet where it does get a little bit more wear with the flexing, you know, with every mile that you're walking.
Speaker: it may need a little bit more product and you can maybe pick up on that that that with your touch of of the Barrett hand. So I'm glad that you were brave enough to try it and and have a little fun and get your hands dirty.
Speaker: Yeah, ah temporarily dirty because the the products are unlike the products I grew up with, that it's really a slight stain on your fingers, ladies and gentlemen, ah easily washable versus I think if I had ever tried to do something like that with kiwi, and again, I'm not trying to bury kiwi, kiwi was in my life for decades.
Speaker: Until threw it out my house. Well, you can keep a cane around just to smell it, you know, a few times. Nah, nah, nah, I was like, hey, if I'm going to do this, I got to do this, right? So we're not going backwards.
Speaker: ah like But I would like to, if I may, I'd like to chime in on, again, this re-education. To your point, taking some product and using your fingers and going around in circles and creating a heat and then applying. What I what i found was that it gave me an opportunity to be really focused on the areas of the shoe more than ever before in my life.
Speaker: and I always thought that, all right, hey, I got this dauber here. Hey, let's go. Yeah. har baper pa but But I think it forces me to be more intimate and to be more attentive.
Speaker: Yeah. And I've enjoyed that. And to your point, oh, maybe I missed a spot. Let me let me revisit. And the slightest of application of product to create this thin layer is mind-blowing to me.
Speaker: Yeah, but you can always apply more. You can always come back to those areas that need more, you know, but the leather is only going to soak up so much, you know, the pores are only going to take so much of that product. So if you overload it, it's just going to be sitting on the surface and that's going to create kind of like a you know, maybe ah ah too much of a buildup that you don't really need. And, you know, to emphasize again, less more.
Speaker: um You can always apply more later on. And and same goes for mirror shine. um You know, if you apply too much wax from the start, It's only going to be kind of a unrefined base layer.
Speaker: So really starting from scratch, you know, cleaning off that factory finish. Some guys will strip it down with other, you know, chemicals, um, or solvents, but I like to just kind of like give it a good thorough cleaning. And then if I'm, my intention was to do near shine, you know, build it up slowly instead of just slapping on too much product and, and because that The shortcuts tend to come back and bite you and the long run.
Speaker: So let's talk about the ah the boot tour, so to speak. so So prior to this interview, Jason and I met, ladies and gentlemen, for three days. Yeah.
Speaker: In stages. And essentially, we took some Chelsea boots that I have made by Alfred Sargent. Rest in peace to Alfred Sargent brand. And I took a photo of these boots because he was curious.
Speaker: And the first thing he said to me was. Those boots are thirsty.
Speaker: So thirsty. So thirsty. You know, in that, you know, we talked about conditioning and how important it is to condition your shoes. And, you know, I think that is a part of the general upkeep, you know, between, between shines. You can brush your shoes out, kind of get the dust off.
Speaker: um But conditioning your boots is is definitely kind of one of the things that's, that's kind of forgotten because we emphasize so much on the shine and and right and the shoe shine thing. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, I think conditioning is definitely more of vital, kind of part of keeping your boots lasting a lot longer. And in your case, um on that top of the vamp, I did notice ah it was a little thirsty, in my words, that it just, you know, that's the, yeah, and like, you know, that's the importance of keeping shoe trees in your shoes when you're not wearing them. The cedar kind of helps you.
Speaker: with the aromatic properties of the wood to absorb all that sweat and that moisture within the boot. So not only taking care of the outside of the boot, but the inside of the boot has a true truth. This definitely a good suggestion.
Speaker: Well, shoe trees were in there, but clearly it still needed, you know, extra, extra TLC. Were you like, what was your normal regimen? Was there, was like conditioning or kind of brushing in part of your normal care? No, no, not at all. I knew nothing about conditioning, at least the deep conditioning i feel that you provided,
Speaker: ah Until we met, I was using full disclosure. i was using a conditioner called Bic 4. Which Jason simply told me that is wonderful for leather jackets and handbags.
Speaker: I got some around. I still got some around. Yeah. Yeah, it's just a gentle cleaner conditioner kind of thing. um Very, very liquidy, you know, almost to the point where it's kind of watered down.
Speaker: So you're not going to screw anything up. Even if you apply too much of this, it might get kind of cloudy. but um But yeah, there's some other, to your point, there are some other creams out there and oils that ah give a deeper condition.
Speaker: um But, you know, it's It's a learning process and just seeing what type of leather you're working with to start with and what is going to react well with with that type of leather.
Speaker: You know, if it was tanned leather, um where it's oiled boiled or pull up leather, you know, you're going to use a different product than um then using a conditioner on a smooth leather or suede, obviously.
Speaker: Well, to your point, the boots are in oiled leather. So going to set you up for success here, Jason. Why don't you show the people watching on YouTube, as we also describe it for the people on audio, what type of conditioner did we use on my boots?
Speaker: So we started with a nice, gentle, cleaner conditioner that's a little um little better at conditioning than Big Four from the lovely Pure Polish.
Speaker: Oh, I can smell it from here, even though you're in Denver. Ladies and gentlemen, it's got orange peel in it. This stuff was so aromatic. You will want to condition anything. Like, it's time.
Speaker: And you can apply it by bare hand, non-toxic, all biodegradable products. ah Fantastic, made in small batches in Bend, Oregon, from my boy Andy. But a really great product you know that we started the cleaning conditioning process with.
Speaker: We worked in small areas, applied small amounts and worked from the heel to the toe, applied a little bit more in that thirsty area on top of the vamp. And then from there, we kind of gave it a few moments.
Speaker: um In this case, you know, we revisited it the next day, buffed it out. um you know You're going to want to give that orange peel oil a few moments to kind of evaporate. It's a solvent that, you know doug like any other solvent, helps spread around the good nourishing coconut oil and beeswax in there.
Speaker: but um But it also takes a few moments to evaporate that solvent. um So you're going to want to wait a few minutes before buffing it out. So ah you want to buff it out after that.
Speaker: ah You can apply you know a hardier condition conditioner, case, is Skidmore's. and this case is in lawence which also available on Shine Your Dang shoes, as well as the Pure Polished products.
Speaker: But this stuff is going to give you a lot more protection with the beeswax amount in there. So it's going to give your boots more of a ah protection layer on those oiled leather boots that might protect you in a storm or, you know, if you're at a party, um a podcast release party and and your buddy bumps into you and spills your drink. Yeah.
Speaker: Uh, you know, you spill the drink on your boots, you're going to have a little, a nice layer of protection on there. Uh, but it's not going to suffocate the pores. Like if you're going to put a mink oil or something more like a dubbing grease, that's really hardy and it's going to collect every little bit of dust that comes and lands on your boot.
Speaker: And they're just going to look kind caked up and it's going to be harder to clean that, you know, dubbin or mink oil or ah something like that. Um, where this is gentle enough. It's just going to absorb into the boot.
Speaker: You can also wait a few moments, um you know, 10, 15 minutes, come back, you know, even the next day and brush them out. And this product is going to be ah enough of beeswax on the boot where you can brush it out and get a nice, like classy, matte, healthy glow. nothing Nothing that's going to take you to Chinatown, but it's definitely going to give you a nice, nice healthy look.
Speaker: Hey, now. Wow. I bet you got a million of those. Keep them coming. So now when we use the skidmores, I want the audience to understand the conditioning step.
Speaker: We used our fingers, but with the skidmores, with the beeswax, yes, we use what I affectionately call the shoe paintbrush.
Speaker: are crazy We got to get in touch with our inner Bob Ross sometimes. And I think, you know, having a nice little applicator brush that's kind of like, looks like a little paintbrush, gives a little bit more fun to it doesn't it?
Speaker: I mean, it was very interesting. ah First of all, ladies and gentlemen, full disclosure, Jason sent me a care package and we're going to actually showcase a highlight of the care package before we break today.
Speaker: And opened up, I even did an unboxing for you, Jason. Thank you, sir. Shout out to my interns. We haven't released it yet. But you gave me all these tools, all these products.
Speaker: Again, i mean, outside of the dauber, and that was the only thing I was familiar with. you know The shoe paintbrush and all these things. So, yeah, so we whisked lightly the product with you know, onto the boot, let it sit, like you said, it and then polished it.
Speaker: And then from there, we went to... well little bit of wax, yeah. Put some wax on it. So we waxed on and waxed off. We certainly did. We had a little pure polish wax paste, wax polish paste.
Speaker: ah You had the brown, I believe, media brown? Yes, the brown. Yes, that's correct. And got the plum over here. Also smells great. But yeah, so the the wax, I think this is something that people are more familiar with, that tin of kiwi that sits in their their grandfather's closet.
Speaker: I remember that ah tin of kiwi that smelled or you know had that aroma coming from my dad's closet and every once in a while when no one was home and I was just sitting around with nothing to do on a summer day. I'd go smell that can of polish at a young age. So I was hooked, you know, at a young age before I had any idea of what my feet my future held for me.
Speaker: but But yeah, I think, you know, the the paste is something that, again, less is more, just like that Skidmore's, small amounts, applying with a brush. ah This amount, you know, is minute with your finger, just small little swipe.
Speaker: And just a little brace amount on the touch of the finger there. Just a little tip. raising Yeah, just a small amount. And then you can fly a little bit from the heel. I like to start on the heel or the toe.
Speaker: And then kind of fade your way back to the areas that are going to bend and flex more. But as you can see, like on the toe box of my shoe. don't know if i can get it on the camera there. Oh, nice shoes. Hey, thanks, bro.
Speaker: Talk. So mold magnates. um But you can start at the toe box and fade your way you know back towards the van. And as that trace amount of wax kind of fades off your finger, you're fading the amount of wax that you're applying to more the pores of leather.
Speaker: So you're not not going to have that sharp contrast from... um where the the real mirror shine is emphasized on the toe and the tip of the toe and then fading its way back um versus having like a stark contrast where the tip of the ah shoe is going to be mirror shine and having it just stop on ah like a hard line or something.
Speaker: um I think it looks better a ah aesthetically. Yeah. with a nice fade. It's like going to get your hair done, you know, getting a nice fade. What's better than just sometimes like a harsh undercut, you know, even though I'm rocking the undercut.
Speaker: So, so for review for the audience, what would you say are the three steps to shoe care? I think, you know, we're fortunate enough to break it down and into the three steps when we were meeting last week.
Speaker: So I like to break it down to cleaning, conditioning, and shining it, or in some cases, protecting the shoe. um You know, something that I've learned from the get-go about 10 years ago is, you know, clean the shoe.
Speaker: condition it and then protect it, put some wax on it or whatever case, you know, maybe. Um, so we were fortunate enough to have the three sessions and kind of approach it one by one.
Speaker: Um, you know, cleaning, i think, You know, we had an opportunity to showcase some products. I think there's a whole spectrum of cleaning products. You know, there's extremely gentle methods. There's extremely abrasive methods, you know, with more, Parcher solvents, you know, that might leave the, the leathers health a little dry that you're going to have to condition it more later on. Um, so I think, you know, less is more kind of to touch on that in all aspects.
Speaker: You know, the more you're do to the shoe, the more, you know, sometimes it's not helpful. So, you know, the more wax you take up on a shoe, the harder it's going to be to remove all that wax.
Speaker: You know, and that goes for any product. the The harder you clean the shoe, you know, the more it's going to need a little bit of attention to bring it back to a healthy status. You know, you might be changing the pH of the leather, um ultimately, if cleaning it to too hard or with some different types of solvents.
Speaker: Here's a heavy question for me, probably not for you, and maybe it will be for the audience. Why should we no longer use Kiwi products? Well, you know, i think from what I've seen, I've never actually used it. I've only smelled it. um So I'm not quite sure what what it's made of. if say It is, in fact, water-based and it will dry hear it is water. Yeah, that's what I heard.
Speaker: That's what I learned at boot camp. Yeah, Levi told you. Levi told me. Yeah, even man. Shout out to Levi. But yeah, I think, those you know, there's a there's certain products that will evaporate in that tin.
Speaker: So even if you use it once, you pop that lid, you put it back nice and tight, you put it on your shelf and you got your midnight green sitting in your you know, in your drawer, in the back of the drawer and you pop it open. Let's see.
Speaker: Oh man, wouldn't you have it? Look at that. It's shriveled up just like we were talking about. And that's a water-based polish right there for you. Just dries up and slowly starts to kind of oxidize and look kind of weird too. It's like kind spotty. I don't know. yeah We'll keep it around just because you never know when those in the neck shoes are going to come back.
Speaker: But, you know, there's there's other products that have different solvents that well won't evaporate like that and will stay buttery smooth until the the last little bit, you know, that you use.
Speaker: So, you know, that's why companies do use solvents is that it does kind of keep it, you know, the quality control a little better. um But, yeah, throw away your chenny and do yourself a favor unless if you like smelling it from time to time.
Speaker: No, I don't know how many tens. I think I took a photo, but I put it all in a plastic bag. I walked it over to this corner right across right across from the garbage room.
Speaker: That's the dedicated corner if you want to off pick up. The freestyle corner. yeah Yeah, the freestyle. Oh, you know. weird artwork, the broken furniture. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. So I went, well, you know, maybe there's someone here on my floor who wants to polish shoes. Which leads to a wonderful segue. You know, there are a lot of men out there who are buying shoes and they're not polishing them because I think they believe they're creating some type of look, some type of patina.
Speaker: What do you have to say about that? ah So in the boot community, I think, you know, ah Stitchdown is a really cool community. ah You know, we obviously both know about it. ah Some people, some viewers might not.
Speaker: um But I think there's a ah contest and it's every year where it's the Thunderdome and it's, you know, you buy a really nice Stitchdown boot.
Speaker: You wear the heck out of that thing in this contest, like parameters. And the winner is basically the most like roughed up boot.
Speaker: So I think there's, you know, that element and that kind of subculture. um But in terms of dress shoes, I think the most important shine was the first shine right out of the box. You can not only use that shoe,
Speaker: probably sitting for months in a warehouse. You know, it's riding, chugging along on a boat, coming over on the ocean. And then it's like, it gets into the warehouse, you know, into into the United States.
Speaker: And it sits there until you click five. And then it's riding on a truck. And it's coming to your house. And by the time it gets to you, it's probably been, you know, six months, maybe sometimes since that shoe's been made.
Speaker: So by the time it gets to you, it's probably a little thirsty. So give that... chew or boot a drink because it's had a long journey and it's now reached its own.
Speaker: So I think that first shine is going to help soften up the leather. Um, and a lot of the dress shoes that I see, you know, um, they're just very rigid out of the box. So the creams and conditioners and the oils that we can use to soften and condition the leather, um, is going to expedite the break-in process, uh, which is going to be, you know, just more enjoyable, not having to suffer through it.
Speaker: And then, you know, the the the shine, but the waxes that we put on or some cases, you know, the beeswax and like an oil leather situation with the skidmores, you're putting a layer of protection on there. So again, you know, if you're going out there and you get caught in a storm, you're at your party and somebody bumps into you and spill something on you, you know, it's it's going to give you a little bit of layer of protection where you're not going to go out there with a basically unprotected shoe into the world where Anything is going to spill on it and create a stain.
Speaker: We've been talking about products. How about we segue into tools, implements? so So for me, i showed you my grandpa's old school Kiwi brush.
Speaker: So I love my brushes. My brushes are certainly not going anywhere. But for people who are trying to figure out, like, how to establish a foundation. Ah, that looks familiar, ladies and gentlemen. He's got a brush in his hand. a good old horsehair brush is probably just good to have around.
Speaker: You know, you got yours from your grandpa. And I think that's really cool that it's like, it's got history in itself. It's shined his shoes and boots and now it's shining yours. I think that's awesome.
Speaker: You know, it's. Thank you. I love that too. And it's just a testament to good quality products that are going to stay. Absolutely. You know, Absolutely. But yeah, I think a good brush is a good starting point.
Speaker: It's going to help you clean your shoes at the end of the day or even before important meeting. If you're like, oh man, I got a scuff. Let me just flu brush this out real quick. um You can take that brush and just gently brush it out with a horsehair brush.
Speaker: um It's gentle enough. And the more you use it, actually, it collects those waxes and gets easier to shine a shoe. brand new brush is actually harder to shine a shoe with, fun fact. So the more you build up those waxes, I got my my black brushes that I use with only black shoes.
Speaker: So I don't transfer that. I that too. Yep. And then I got my brown one. Yep. So if you really want to get into it. Same here. And then I got all that like build up for my hands, you know, all the years. Oh, wow. That's great, isn't it? It just adds a lot of patina to the brush that we to use.
Speaker: So all my hands. That's crazy. Yeah, I love it. It's great. You can kind of see how I hold the brush. But these the big ones. You know, you can get the smaller ones that are a little shorter and sometimes fit into most people's hands a little more comfortably.
Speaker: But I like the big daddy's and get more surface area.
Speaker: You know, and then if you got like a nice microfiber towel that you can just gently brush off the shoes with by hand, you know, obviously it's not going to be easy to brush it.
Speaker: on your foot, on your own foot. Um, but it's by taking your, your shoe off and holding it or putting some shoe trees on it and just kind of brushing it with a micro carpet towel sometimes is a super cheap, uh, tool that everybody's got.
Speaker: And then in terms of application, you know, we talked about using our hands or applicator brush, a dauber brush is always kind of um in the toolbox of most two shiners I see.
Speaker: um My buddy Craig uses it and he just stuffs it right here. And I love it because it looks like it's just like brushing his beard while he's shining his shoes. It's a beautiful thing. But you don't worry about it.
Speaker: He uses pure polished products too.
Speaker: So speaking of products, rumor has it that you have launched your own. Oh, I certainly have. I got the suit cleaning kits and it's something that I've been using quite a bit here as you can see I'm on my my second box I've had these about a month now and I've shined or I've cleaned probably about like 20 pairs of shoes with the uh between the two boxes that I've got so far and i'm only about a quarter of the way through this problem so little bit goes so what is that in your hand there's a little cleaning solution ah it's
Speaker: With coconut oil derivative, so it's a nice gentle ah cleaning agent that you can use on pretty much anything. There is, you know, some skill set if you do use it on a new buck or a suede that you do have to kind of reset them now.
Speaker: So less and more, I would say kind of just use it on any smooth leather um sneakers. It works great on that as well as the midsoles and this handy little brush that it comes with.
Speaker: is super easy to use. I've used this one quite bit, as you can see, but it's still holding up. You can scrub the whole shoe with this. And I scrubbed some really dirty boots with this and the cleaner.
Speaker: And it just, basically what you're doing is you're just putting a little bit into a dish, give a couple squeezes. And then you can either just use it straight up by dunking the brush in there and get it kind of frothy.
Speaker: Or you can spray with a, what I like to do is spray a water bottle, a spray bottle to get into the kind of the solution that's in little Tupperware dish.
Speaker: And that creates that suds and that suds is what you want. All that kind of like sudsy soapy water, dump it into the brush and scrub the whole shoe with that. You know, this brush is gentle enough where you're not going have to worry about really scratching many shoes, but you can, if you are concerned, maybe just kind of use it in a lightly kind of back edge brush motion that I was teaching you about suede in our suede care class um is just kind of gently using a brush um with that back edge kind of gently brushing it versus at a full perpendicular 90 degree angle.
Speaker: um So that's kind of some tips there. little bit goes a long way, a couple of squeezing things into even a towel. um You can manually clean, you know, your shoe by just applying couple of drops to a microfiber towel and then just wipe down your whole shoe.
Speaker: ah So that's kind of what I was mentioning yesterday when you were asking about it. um But yeah, it's super easy to use. You see tangible results. um And I think in a world where everybody's wearing, um whether they're sneakers, um which is like, huge, huge market.
Speaker: Um, and I love it cause like, I love the versatility of wearing, you know, some like dunk low pros or some SBs, you know, and just kind of looking kind of fresh. Um, but I always be fly, you know?
Speaker: Um, but I think, I think, uh, it's ah it gives you an opportunity to to work on and clean your shoes and keep it clean at home. And I think it's, you know, it's a, it's a affordable price point.
Speaker: Right now I'm selling it for $19.99 on And I don't plan on raising the price anytime soon. So, So yeah, good deal. 20 bucks, you know, get it in the mail and clean your dang shoes and see some results.
Speaker: And yeah, I think that, you know, from there, it gives you an opportunity to use other products that we mentioned before, you know, with the conditioning, with the but polishing or protection.
Speaker: Well, I am really, yeah. Yeah, there you go. Ladies and gentlemen, he's propping up the whole box there, showing the products. He's got this cool logo, Dornstar. You betcha, baby.
Speaker: So it's great to talk to another entrepreneur, another founder, you know. Thank sir. Yeah. I mean, I'm a service. You're a tangible product.
Speaker: I think it's super duper cool. Yeah, it's something that I use. And like, I've been doing this product for years. And, you know, other companies sell a very comparable product for a very comparable price. So I think for me, it's an opportunity to get some skin in the game, let people know I'm not not fooling around anymore.
Speaker: um And just, you know, have have something that I use that works, um that I've seen work. And it's just a no brainer for me. I don't have to reinvent the wheel, you know.
Speaker: What, you know, I just realized. So, you know, you shine shoes for a living. You also involve yourself in shoe competitions. You also educate people on shoe care.
Speaker: But from your perch there, what was the worst pair of shoes you've had to take care of? e there's one pair that I did turn away was what yeah I just was like no man I'm not gonna touch that um it was back okay so I'll give I'll give you kind of some some texture to that that basically statement.
Speaker: I was working at Nordstrom and I was kind of sharpening my teeth there, learning how to shine shoes after selling shoes for about 15 years there. I was starting to kind of learn how to do shoe care, how to shine shoes, the whole thing. And and some gentlemen brought in and keep in mind, we were charging $3.50 to clean and and shine boots at the time, and which I would keep that $3.50. And if a customer felt the need to leave gratuity, I would also be fortunate enough to keep that.
Speaker: And I was getting paid hourly. So it was a pretty cush job in the life of a shoeshine guy. But at the same time, you know, charging $3.50 for cleaning boots,
Speaker: ah pair of boots These boots were unique. They were a pair of elephant boots, like grayish in color.
Speaker: But the thing that kind of got me and the reason why it said no, which I yeah really never do is because they're moldy.
Speaker: They're covered in mold. what yeah and i was like ah like i smelled it and it was just like it smelled like an old shed like a kind of in a really dank environment really humid you know wet environment and it just they smelled really yeah yeah so i i had to say no but that was that was just The only time that I remember being like, no, dude, like um've I've taken on muddy shoes where a guy was like, yeah, I had chasing people off my property and I got the, got these shoes all muddy, but I won't tell you what happened to the guys. And I was just thinking, man, like what happened here?
Speaker: You know, like, so you some fun don't mind the blood yeah don't mind that red stuff on there. but But yeah, we got the stains out for him. And, you know, I signed the NDA, so we're all good.
Speaker: The moldy boots, did this individual have them on No, he dropped them off. He wouldn he was, uh, just bringing them in for cleaning and conditioning. And I, and first of all, I had, you know, i was just getting started. i had no previous knowledge on how to care for elephant leather.
Speaker: That's a very, you know, hardy, hardy, uh, leather. So for me, I had no idea what to do, you know, could have slapped some big four on it and been all right. But, uh, but for me, like, i just was like, I'm not messing with that. You know, I'm not getting paid to do that kind of thing. That's above my pay grade.
Speaker: Uh, but to this day, like, I think if I were in the same position now as a business owner, um, I would be more apt to taking on the job because I could charge what I want instead of being subjected to a company's pricing structure.
Speaker: Understood.
Speaker: What's been the best pair of shoes for you to take care of? Like you just went like you fell in love with them. you just went, whoa. ah Recently, probably my buddy Ezekiel from Shoeslide.
Speaker: I got to work on two of his pairs of Justin Fitzpatrick's. cloud and We both have had the pleasure to kind of like chat with. youre on You had him on a podcast, right?
Speaker: I had him on my podcast. He's a friend of mine. Yeah. He's local. Very cool guy. Very genuine. but very Yes. Some beautiful products. And i had the opportunity to shine two of his um really beautiful ah dress shoes. And I think this week were those were my two favorite this week.
Speaker: nice Beautiful patina kind of marbleized. ah Oh, the marbleized. Yeah. I've seen those up close. So gorgeous. And it's almost like, and you know, like digital camouflage kind of has that kind of like blocking color blocking to it.
Speaker: His marbleized technique, like with that patina almost looks like it's like digitized marble. And to me, you know, it's like, he's kind of looking at it from artist standpoint, um but very unique patinas.
Speaker: And I think that's what really, um is the expression of fashion, you know, the patina opportunity and the patina artists, you know, that create these like beautiful shoes, uh, really just, you can change all, it's like putting a new wrap on a vehicle. It just completely changes it.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Any tips and tricks that you could share with the audience for shoe care? Oh, yeah he's nodding his head, ladies and gentlemen. All right. ah yes I got some up here. Let shake him out of my sleeve here.
Speaker: Nothing up in my sleeve. What do you got? Some tricks. So I think going to put it on you. What would you say? Do you think, you know, keeping it simple has been working for you? Like less and more? Like the tips and tricks?
Speaker: First of all, really? A question with a question? Who's doing the interview here, Jason? Flip it. That's number one. That's the politician side. I'll answer you. yeah I'll answer you. I mean, it's not a tip or a trick. It's a revelation yeah that, yeah, less is more, that I don't have to scoop up a whole bunch of product onto my fingers or even through that brush for the skidmores and apply it on my shoes.
Speaker: Like to literally, that's why I enjoy using it digitally and taking my middle finger and just spreading it around and just literally just observing acutely what I'm doing.
Speaker: It's amazing. And sometimes to your point, let's say on one section of shoe, I'll see there's a little bit too much product. And then I guess to your term, I do the fade, like I extend it, you know, like, Oh, let me go towards more the middle of the shoe.
Speaker: um Yeah, that, I mean, listen, man, I'm in the gray stage now. So these products could last me the rest of my life. I may not have to order another set of products, particularly the kit, you know, between your care package and Levi's starter Saphir kit.
Speaker: I'm like, I think I'm set. And now I'm learning about pure polish. Yeah. And there's a kit with pure polish, too. So you can get kind of like a sardipid as well with, you know, the cleaner conditioner, a cream and then the paste, the wax. So, yeah. And that's the thing to get to your point. You know, some guys get a little sticker shock, you know, and everything and cost them so much nowadays. not cheap yeah right and you look at it but you're using the world's class polishes you're not buying the kiwis from your you know your kroger your kroger brand this good products it's going to last you know as long as you close that lid you know and uh and just keep it you know keep it around for while but a little bit goes a long way so yeah like 20 bucks or whatever it costs for some of these products or more
Speaker: and like wow I'm gonna be spending you know darn near a couple hundred bucks by the time it's all over with you know my whole array of colors for all my shoes and all that but this is product that's gonna last in years so you know as long as you keep it in keep it in drawer and don't you know store outside or anything like that um But yeah, I think, you know, less and more and some tips and tricks from me, I think, you know, that I've learned from some of my other counterparts across the pond um is using your bare hands. And that was my biggest revelation personally is, you know, getting in touch with the leather and feeling that the little ah differences, you know, between the application that we wax um or your cream, but using your bare hand.
Speaker: You know, some guys to get right into the shine cloth. But, you know, when I'm trying to achieve a mirror shine, I'm slapping the shoe with my bare hand, with the butt of my palm, just kind of ever so gently, just as if like a bee landed on your shoulder and you're just like, get off me bee, you know, where you're not trying to smash it, you know, into your shoulder and ultimately sting yourself.
Speaker: But, but just basically kind of like gently slapping the tip of the shoe with, you know, kind of a, a same parallel motion with the surface of the shoe, um ah gently touching it.
Speaker: I think for me, it was able to heat up the wax, buff it out. And, you know, as long as you're not putting too much wax onto the shoe in that area that you're slapping, you're going to buff that little fine area of that wax out and it's going to just start to pop.
Speaker: faster and shine faster. So, um, in the competition that I was in last year, fortunate enough to be alongside Chad and Sonny, uh, from SSIA, shout out to SSIA, She Service Institute in America.
Speaker: um you know, it cool opportunity to be ah ah alongside couple of people that are shining with their own techniques. I didn't win, obviously, but like I was slapping the shoe like there was no tomorrow and, um, I just couldn't get it to pop.
Speaker: But I think it's, it's, uh, you know, something I'm still mastering, you know, to touch and just, um, to kind of circle back to the tips and tricks and just need to bare hand, you know, and, uh, get in touch with your shoe. And, um, I think that will be more of an intimate journey, you know, like but to your point, Reg.
Speaker: I totally agree. Lightning round. Jason, why is fashion important? I think fashion is important because it's an expression of we are as an individual.
Speaker: You know, what we feel, you know, we'd like to portray to the world, to our friends, ah to people we just are walking past on the street. You know I think it's ah it's a form of expression. So fashion to me has always been ah form of expression, whether it's in my earlier rocker years with my piercings, you know, and mostly black clothes, uh, to now, you know, looking a little bit more conservative and kind of shifting towards, you know, wearing tassels. And, um, but I, I try to always be fly, you know, I sometimes mix it up and, uh, throw on some sneakers and see cargo pants, you know?
Speaker: What difference has fashion made in your life? ah Fashion for me, I think, you know, I was, I'd always been a part of my life. You know, I think, you know, as a young kid with my buddy Thomas, when I was growing up in Minneapolis, we had one opportunity to have a nice pair of shoes for the year.
Speaker: You know, we um hope to not grow out of them in that year. But we'd have to keep them looking clean, you know? So I think fashion to me at a young age was emphasized that, you know, you're not cool unless you've got a nice pair of like Jordans or a cool pair of looking sneakers back in the day.
Speaker: And if you had some dirty looking sneakers, you're showing up looking kind of like, you know, like People, it would give people an opportunity to make fun of you. And yeah. And I think for me as a kid, like shoes were where it all started from the ground up.
Speaker: And like, it was the one thing that you would have every day that you could show to the world. that was an expression of who you are and like what kind of you want to portray as who you are.
Speaker: ah So as a young age, before even knowing it, I think, you know, instilled from the people that I ah was in school with um that they were like, hey, man, like, you're going to get made fun of if you have some ratty looking shoes.
Speaker: and So fashion has definitely been ah part of my life since a young age.
Speaker: What's the top fashion tip you could give the everyday man so he could look his best? Well, I mean, I think an easy answer would say get a nice pair of shoes. But I think, you know, it does obviously complete the outfit. You know, if you have a nice looking suit or if you're dressed up and you got a nice, you know, shirt on, nice pair of jeans, and then you show up looking, you know, kind of like you didn't complete the outfit with some with some just cheap shoes. You know, people see People...
Speaker: People see the quality of footwear very easily. In my opinion, i can spot a shoe and be like, that is a cheap shoe. And I can, I can spot to the point where it's like, that's an Allen Edmonds.
Speaker: That's a Johnson Murphy, because I can now decipher the stitching or just the small differences in in the manufacturing process or the type of color that certain manufacturers will only use.
Speaker: ah So just kind of noticing that kind of stuff. um I think it's a conversation piece also ah to have a nice pair of shoes because everybody's looking down at their phone and that might be the first thing that they kind of glance and see as you're walking by your nice pair of shoes or go your and shiny pair of shoes. And if you show up looking busted with some broken shoelaces, you know, it just, it says a lot about who you are and how you, how you take care of yourself.
Speaker: And I think for the world, um, in the business world and how you portray yourself, I think that's noticed, um, pretty easily. like And it's a easy, easy bandaid that you can, you know, get one nice pair of shoes and get you through the first couple of years of your business while you grow, you know, grow your wardrobe.
Speaker: Well said. Thank sir. What does the term always be fly mean to you? So always be fly to me. I think it's just, you know, it's an expression of fashion. And I think even if I'm showing up to Sprouts, you know, I'm going to think twice before I go outside with a pair of sweatpants on.
Speaker: Um, even if it's just a weekend run to Home Depot, you know, I think, um I try to try to always be fly, but sometimes like if I'm if i'm working like in the yard, I'll show up just and not so fly. like But yeah, always be fly. Just present yourself with respect towards the world to the people that you're running into.
Speaker: think you nailed it, Jason. Thank you so much for educating me, educating the audience. you know, this is your life's work and I'm just really flattered that you've had a willingness to share it with me and to share it with us.
Speaker: Thank you, Reg. I appreciate the, um I'm honored to have the opportunity to do this and just so honored to have the opportunity to meet you and get to know you a little bit more too.
Speaker: Thank you, bro. and should Keep shining. Thank you. We'll see you soon.
Speaker: So you learn from Jason all the things it takes to take care of your shoes. It's a lot, right? I said it in the interview and I'll say it again.
Speaker: I was totally re-educated. I threw away all of my Kiwi products. I learned new techniques. Wonder what my grandpa would make of all this.
Speaker: Especially learning that Kiwi is no longer a premium shoeshine product. Big shout out to Jason for introducing me to Boot Black, Pure Shine, and Skidmore's.
Speaker: You can find Jason Dorn on Instagram at Dorn Stars Shines or on the web at ShineYourDangShoes.com If you want to level up your shoe shine game, then let's make it happen.
Speaker: take initiative and become fashion confident in 30 days. All you have to do is email me at reg at nyfashiongeek.com for a consultation.
Speaker: Well, that's a wrap. To my team of interns, past and present, who have helped make the Fashion Geek Podcast what it is today, I thank Always be fly.
Speaker: Free audio post-production. by alphonic dot com
