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Art and Tradition of Shoemaking Kegam Balian has made shoes by hand since he was 11 years old.
September 30, 2004 Kegam Balian's wife, Alice, is in an enviable position. Kegam is a shoemaker and she has owned a pair of shoes for every woman's style he has ever designed. He has been making shoes for 60 years, and they have been married for 47. His sons, Alex und Aris, run the cobbler shops, selling new safety work boots and shoes, and repairing footwear, luggage and purses. It's a family affair. Alice Balian serves Armenien food she has prepared at home and stuffed into plastic containers for lunch. They gather around a table in the back and enjoy rice kabobs and Mediterranean salad. Alice Balian works at a sewing machine doing alternations in the showroom, where Alex Balian's one-year-old child, Kegam, sleeps in a playpen. Alex Balian's wife, Loucine, does the billing and customer service. Alex Balian 34, and Aris Balian, 30, say they are fourth generations cobblers, but of the modern day variety. They no longer make shoes by hand, the tradition of their father, grandfather and great grandfather. But they rebuild shoes and make them "like new," Alex Balian said. "We take soles off, put new ones on and thensew them all," he said.
The craft of the actual shoemaking is a dying custom. The cost is prohibitive compared to machinery-made footwear. "In the United States, making shoes is not a good way of making a living," Alex Balian said. "It's hard, because everything is made in China." THOSE DAYS are long gone. Now Kegam Balian works part time, makes about 100 orthopedic shoes a year, and assists with the repairs. "Aris Balian said. "It's amazing what a quarter inch will do for a back and a knee. We do lifts. We do wedges, if a person is rolling their foot out, to balance it. We stretch the shoes if they have swelling or we customize shoes for customers who are in between sizes." Aris Balian calls his father an "encyclopedia," because he has the answers to any of the problems their customer's footwear presents. A client recently asked him to design a shoe with an ice pack in the sole for injured feet. The invention looks like a sandal. Aris Balian said his father likes working with his hands, and he is glad he had the opportunity tofollow his father and grandfather's footsteps. "It's hard work, but it's challenging." "When we rebuild shoes, he lokks them over," Alex Balian said. "He watches everything to makesure it's working well."

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