WHEN things are looking dim for your favorite pair of leather shoes, belt or bag, there’s no need to worry (at least, not anymore).
This shop right here in Cebu is ready to shed some light once again on your worn or damaged favorite leather items.
Located on F. Ramos St., corner A. Villanueva St., Cebu City, 2nd Chance is a store that offers leather repair and restoration services. This business is owned by Maria Pilar.
Why the name? The technical adviser of the shop, Paul Yen, Maria’s husband, has this to say:
“The name of the place sounds like a rehab, and I’d like to believe that this place is a rehab for used leather goods,” Paul explains.
Besides good quality workmanship, another interesting bit about this place is that, the putting up of the store was a way of giving jobs to the children of Paul’s caddies in golf. And by chance, Paul met a leather master from China and he hired the expert to train the staff for around nine months.
“We always wanted to do something for the young kids here because a lot of them wouldn’t be able to finish school. And it’s hard for them to get jobs. So we wanted to do something, perhaps get something going,” Paul says.
Also, one of the best things about the place is that it offers to the public an extensive range of services. As long as you’re bringing in something that’s made out of leather, then chances are the shop can fix or restore it for you. Be it shoes, straps of wristwatches, or book covers. From damages like scratches and cuts, to discoloration or molds, they can handle it. Also, they’re open to accepting all kinds of items, Gucci or not.
“I don’t care if its branded or not branded. We try to provide the same quality of service—best quality, at the lowest cost,” Paul shares.
This business perhaps, is a one-of-its-kind concept, as customers from all over different regions in the country who have heard of this small shop in Cebu, began sending their items over cargo forwarding companies for repairs. According to Paul, some of these people are from “Bacolod, Butuan, Tacloban, Cagayan De Oro,” to name a few.
Leather repair and restoration is not really a complicated and tedious process, as it may seem. But according to Paul, a lot of it has to rely on the staff’s “skill.” The shop is proud to say that they use no machines in the dealing with customers’ products and that all work is done by hand.
2nd Chance’s store hours are from 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Monday to Saturday. If you don’t want your favorite leather items to go to waste, then checking out this place would be ideal.
So now that the new year is here, and making a resolution is still a good thing, it’s but fitting to “resolve” to restore your old leather goods. Let’s just hope that our leather belts still fit us after the recent holiday season, though.