Made to measure

Boots and shoes, are painstakingly produced to individual tastes.

The strong smell of glue seemed to emanate from the rows of leather boots and gentlemen’s shoes on display in Rahmat Mokhtar’s shoe shop. How this boot-maker and his staff of three were able to work in the chemical-laden air is a mystery.

“We’re used to it but maybe you should step out of my workshop. You might get dizzy,” said the 39-year-old Rahmat with genuine concern. But there was nowhere to go. So for the writer’s sake, Rahmat fastened the caps on some opened cans of glue, hoping this would make a difference. It didn’t.

Rahmat may or may not be aware of the dangers of prolonged solvent inhalation but either way, this Negri Sembilan native did not think it was a matter of great importance.

Sense of fun: Rahmat Mokhtar isn’t averse to playing dress up for our cameras.

He reckoned that if he could survive a head-on crash with a lorry in 1991, the smell of glue was a trivial matter.

“The accident made me realise that I should never do things in a hurry,” said Rahmat of the life lesson learned from the ordeal. Today, the scars on his face and forearms serve as a reminder that life is to be appreciated.

Rahmat, the youngest of seven siblings, said he had taken up shoe-making soon after he left his hometown of Serting Ulu for Kuala Lumpur at the age of 18.

“I started work as an assistant for Mohamad Affendi, an Indonesian who specialised in leather products. He treated me like a brother and taught me how to make leather boots. One reason I had taken a liking to the craft was because he was such a good teacher,” recalled Rahmat.

With no formal training, Rahmat had to rely on experience to be his tutor and that was how in 1989, Rahmat became a street cobbler in Jalan Chow Kit.

Then there was no institute offering shoe-making courses so he learned everything through observation. One of the first things he recalled doing was to help Abang Pin prepare the materials needed to make footwear in addition to sweeping up before closing shop. Those early years, he recalled, were fun because Abang Pin was the ‘sporting’ type.

Take your pick: Colourful boots for all occasions line the walls of Rahmat’s shoe shop.

“One important value that my family taught me is when it comes to choosing one’s career, it is very important that you like what you do,” said Rahmat.

And making shoes, decided Rahmat would be his calling. Today, equine riders usually find themselves at Rahmat’s shop to have him measure their feet for riding boots. Even the repairs of their reins and bridles are done by him.

“It is not exactly a glamorous line to be in. Most times, it’s a matter of ensuring that my customers’ boots are made according to their specification and they are mostly equine sportsmen who are more particular about safety features rather than style.”

Still, the crucial point for Rahmat has always been the fit of the footwear he makes.

“One of the biggest slip-ups I made resulted in a customer not being able to zip up his boots because I had made a mistake with the measurement of the boot top. That kind of thing, I do my best to avoid,” he smiled sheepishly.

Meanwhile, the rate of production for Rahmat’s handcrafted boots is three pairs for every two days but customers are requested to give him at least 10 days for a job well done.

Prices start from RM200 for casual gentlemen’s shoes and RM350 for boots.

For the sake of trivia, in all his 21 years as boot-maker, Rahmat has never owned or worn a pair of boots, preferring the comfort of slippers instead.

The father of three girls aged 10, 9 and 3 said: “I don’t see the necessity as I don’t ride horses or own a motorcycle. Besides, it’s cooler to wear slippers as I move around a lot.”

Leather Point is located at FF22, Bazaar Pertama, Pertama Complex, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur, or call 012-357 7295.