Carson City shoe shiner will put a glow in your toe

When was the last time your feet felt like a million bucks?

If you can't remember, then visit Mike Smith at his shoe shine chair inside Cipriani's Downtown Barber Shop on North Carson Street.

He'll set you straight.

"We're really gonna put some glow in this toe," he said with categorical enthusiasm, working vigorously on my leathers. "These are magic hands."

Smith has been shining shoes since he was a 14 year-old youth in his home town of Olive Branch, Mississippi. There he learned the trade from a shoe cobbler, who gave him his first paying job.

"I wanted a taste of making my own money," he said. "So I started shining shoes there, and the next thing I know, I sort of perfected the craft of shining shoes."

Smith continued shining shoes in college for part-time work. Customers would drop there shoes off to him, then he'd get busy cleaning and polishing them at his dormitory.

"They'd bring their shoes to me and I'd shine them," he said. "At that time I was using Kiwi polish. I couldn't afford the good kind like the Lincoln polish I use today."

These days Smith is retired, having spent 34 years in education. He moved from his beloved South land, where he also played saxophone in blues bands up and down the Mississippi Delta and in Memphis, TN, out west to Carson City about 10 months ago.

Here he has settled with his significant other, who he met at conference in Denver about two years ago.

"She's my twin flame," Smith said. "Some people would call them their soul mate or love of their life."

It was merely matter of working up the courage to greet her, he said, and the rest is history.

"I was a presenter at the conference and she had set up a booth there," Smith said. "I didn't say anything to her, just admired her from a distance, you know, being cool and calm. So I eventually got up enough nerves to speak with her, and that's all it took was for me to open my mouth and say hello."

Smith said he feels comfortable in Carson City, a place that reminds him of his home town.

"The people are very friendly and nice here," he said. "I like it because it's quiet."

The revitalized downtown area was a big reason why Smith decided to start his shoe shine business inside Cipriani's Downtown Barber Shop just three weeks ago.

"The hub of downtown is as vibrant as any city," he said. "I'm fortunate enough to be in Cipriani's Barber Shop."

Smith said he actually set up shop first at Prestige Car Wash, feeling out the area and trying to establish a local clientele. But Cipriani's was on his radar before the barber shop had even opened for business at 318 North Carson Street.

"I kept passing by this place, looking in and watching it," he said. "This is the place I needed to be: Downtown, the view, glass windows. I kept telling myself I was gonna be here."

Smith didn't have to convince Cipriani's owner Nick Fontanez of the merits of his shoe shine service, either. The partnership between them was a natural fit for Fontanez's vision of his old-fashioned style barber shop.

"It's just a natural fit to be in a barber shop," Smith said. "This is like the hub of conversation. We come in and talk about everything from children, school, health, sports. So why not have a shoe shine stand inside of a barber shop?"

Just as barbers are skilled conversationalists by trade, Smith said shoe shining is more about the connection with customers than simply just buffing their shoes to a gleam.

"My form of social media is conversation, having a natural conversation with another individual," he said. "You can't beat this. When you come in and have a great conversation, you build relationships. That's what it's about."

Those conversations, in turn, promote his business by resulting in repeat customers and referrals to new clients.

"You can establish a great clientele if you offer a service, and if they like it, they'll come back to see you," Smith said. "They'll refer and tell their friends about it, too. That's why I'm looking to build something here, and let people know they do have a professional shoe shining service right here in Carson City."

Smith's hunch about the downtown Carson City location appears to be working in his favor. He said he has shined more than 60 pairs of shoes in the past three weeks. This includes repeat customers, too.

"They keep coming back, giving me more shoes to shine, so I must be doing something right," he said. "I love doing it, because I make people smile and happy. Their shoes are really happy!"

But Smith admits that shoe shiners are a rarity anymore, even in the big cities where they were once very popular. Fashion changes and a fast-paced culture have contributed to its decline. At some point, he said, the younger generations lost interest in continuing the craft.

"When men used to dress up a lot, and really cared about fashion and style, you would see a lot of it," he said. "It sort of died away, because most of the shoe shine guys were older gentlemen. This was their only source of income, most of them were retired, and they started getting old.

"The younger people did not want to carry on the tradition and to keep up the art," Smith said.

Smith said he hopes to revive the lost art of shining shoes by establishing in a revitalized downtown Carson City.

"I'm really looking forward to offering a service to individuals here," he said.

Men's shoes have traditionally been the focus of shoe shining through the decades, Smith said, but he will also gladly shine women's shoes as well as their handbags.

Smith said his business has a pick and drop off service for clients with five or more pairs of shoes to shine. Handbags and shoes of all types will get cleaned, conditioned and shined by Smith's service. And he's mobile for events, too.

"Have stand, will travel," he said.

To say Smith is passionate about footwear is an understatement. They captured his interest since the early days of working for the cobbler in Olive Branch.

"I just love shoes. I've a shoe fetish," he said matter-of-factly. "I have about 30 pairs of shoes, including boots. I have exotics, drivers, dress shoes, casual shoes. I guess like women love purses, I love shoes."

But this love, this passion for footwear is not born out of an obsession. It's more like an obsession born out of love.

"I just love taking care of the investment," Smith said. "When you think about people wearing shoes, they're wearing them for two reasons: One, because the shoes are comfortable, and second, because they like them."

So Smith sees his craft as essential in helping people preserve the importance placed on a good pair of shoes.

"If they like the shoes and they are comfortable, why not protect your investment?" he said. "This is something that I do. We're going to protect that investment, and they're going to come back to see me with that protected investment."

Finishing up my leathers, Smith is rapidly buffing them with his towel while keeping an eye on the window facing the sidewalk along North Carson Street.

Suddenly, he perks up as two men pass by in their business attire.

"Hey, come in and get your shoes shined!" he shouts from behind the glass. "Let me shine them up for you! Come on in here and let me put a glow in that toe!"

He exchanges waves with the passers-by and returns to his work, but with a notable grin on his face.

"You can tell I'm not bashful, and I'm not modest at all," he said. "You make conversation with people and that's what I like. I'm not afraid to go out and meet them."

Smith still blows his saxophones, too. He's already found venues like Living the Good Life Lounge and played there.

Applying a last bit of elbow grease to my shoes, he gestures me to step off the pedals and admire what looks like a brand new pair of shoes right off the rack at Nordstrom's or Dillard's.

I mutter that I can almost see my reflect in them. I tell Mike that this was my very first shoe shine experience, and I can see the value in keeping a pair of shoes looking so clean.

"Plus it makes you feel good, too, walking upright and proud, knowing your shoes look good!" he said. "You'll feel like a million bucks, but I don't charge a million for it."

Smith works part-time shining shoes in Carson City. He's available at Cipriani's Downtown Barber Shop Tuesdays and Fridays, either walk-in or by appointment, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

He can be reached by telephone at 775-508-9305 or via email at smithm410@yahoo.com.