Press Release : World Shoe Shine Championship Winner 2018
For immediate release
16 April 2018
World Shoe Shine Championship 2018
The World Shoe Shining Championship is an annual event organised by the leading authorities on classic shoes for men, Shoegazing and The Shoe Snob. The championship was held at The London Super Trunk Show, where brands from all over the world gather to promote their craft. Last year’s world shoe shine championship was won by Yuya Hasegawa who runs Brift.H, a very successful shoe shine business in Japan.
The World Shoe Shining Championship was held at The Music Room in London where three finalists competed against each another. They were given one side of a shoe to be polished in 20 minutes. The 3 finalists were chosen based on their submissions prior to the event; a photo of their work was submitted to the panel of shoe specialist judges.
John Chung, a Singaporean who is the founder of Mason and Smith was one of the finalists competing against Pete and Thomas Kalflo. Pete has been working with shoes for 16 years in UK while Thomas who originated from France has been in the shoe industry for at least 5 years. The shoes were inspected by 4 judges according to the colour, shine and finesse. The judges include people who have been in the shoe industry for more than 10 years. John Chung’s shine impressed the judges and beat the other finalists to arrive in 1st place, winning The World Shoe Shining Champion of 2018. This is the first time a Singaporean has enter this international championship as a finalist and also the first time a Singapore won the World Shoe Shining Championship.
About Mason and Smith
John Chung, a shoe enthusiast, owns Mason and Smith, a shoe shine bar providing shoe polishing and shoe repair services at Telok Ayer. Mason and Smith was started in 2013, when John Chung was 21.
Although John was offered a place in Nanyang Technological University right after National Service, John decided not to pursue a degree and started his business. Despite having parents who strongly disagreed with the decision, John was determined to be an entrepreneur in the shoe industry.
Initially, Mason and Smith sold second hand vintage mens shoes at the local flea market, running pop ups once or twice a month. These shoes were procured using his savings from national service, however margins were slim as not many clients were willing to purchase second hand shoes.
It was difficult for John as he struggled to sustain his business, but this did not stop him from pursuing his dream. John picked up the skill of polishing shoes through working with second hand vintage shoes. The vintage shoes typically arrived in the store in a tired condition, John cleaned them up before putting them on sale. He started to provide shoe polishing services at the local flea markets because he thought it might attract more people to come to his booth at the markets.
After 6 months of pop up at local flea markets, John was approached by Marina Bay Sands hotel to provide the hotel’s first shoe shine stand for 1 year in 2013. After the Marina Bay Sands contract ended, Mason and Smith moved into a shared space with Kevin Seah, a bespoke tailor located at Boat Quay. In 2018, Mason and Smith relocated to 147a Telok Ayer in a shared space.
Mason and Smith is Singapore’s first artisan shoe shining and leather care store that restores vintage men’s shoes. The store provides one of the most comprehensive polishing services in Singapore, ranging from a quick express shine of about 10 minutes to a complete overhaul of an old pair of shoes. When sending in shoes for polishing, clients may also choose between the different levels of shine (soft, medium or hard). Apart from shoe shining, their craftsmen are also able to restore women’s handbags and small leather goods. Other services includ
e recoloring, resoling, suede cleaning, sneaker cleaning and leather restorative works. Each and every piece of leather brought in is polished strictly by hand and treated with the best leather care products available to lovingly restore its deserved lustre. All items that arrive in the workshop are handled with care and carefully returned to their former glory.
For more information about Mason and Smith
Address : 147a Telok Ayer Singapore 068606 (2nd Floor)
Website : www.masonandsmith.com
Email : info@masonandsmith.com
Instagram : www.instagram.com/masonandsmith
Facebook : www.facebook.com/masonxsmith
Contact person : John +65 92961462
For more information about the event
Live Streaming Recordings : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLN2mu_kKrQ
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· Shoe Snob : http://www.theshoesnobblog.com/2018/04/london-super-trunk-show-2018-april-7th-the-music-room-info-for-the-day.html
· Shoe Gazing : http://www.shoegazing.se/2018/04/05/live-streaming-fran-london-super-trunk-show/
