We’re Tess & Ariss, Welcome!
Working to repair the future of cobbling!
Awl Together Leather is a custom leatherwork and shoe repair studio located in East Vancouver, BC, co-owned by Ariss Grutter and Tess Gobeil. We opened our doors during the COVID-19 pandemic on May 4th, 2021, after deciding that we could work to change the homogenous demographics of our industry while providing accessible repairs to communities near and far! Our expanded services include heavy-weight garments alterations and repair, bespoke production, business-to-business manufacturing, and all the odd-jobs other repairers won’t help you with.
Ariss and Tess first met while working together at a local boot manufacturer and formed strong solidarity as underrepresented leatherworkers – both sick of sexism and unstable work environments. Together, we have over 10 years of leatherwork experience. We have named our company to reflect our collective values ‘All Together’ and a commonly used leather tool – an Awl. We have set out to train the next generation of diverse leatherworkers.
We launched with a Kickstarter campaign that raised our initial goal of 10k and over 22k in total. To date, we’ve helped over 10,000 customers keep 50,000 plus items out of a landfill. We were named to BC Business’ 2022 30U30 List, were a finalist for the Canada Post Tales of Triumph ‘Rising Star’s’ 2023 Competition and have been featured on Style Insider, Art Insider, the CBC, the Stitchdown Podcast, and many more!
Welcome to Awl Together Leather!
We are passionate about our work!
Our Vision
Awl Together Leather is devoted to changing the demographics of our industry while providing accessible repair services that serve communities local and far. According to a 2021 study by WorkSafe BC, 82% of Shoe Repairers are male and 82% are over the age of 45. As this cohort retires, we plan to fill their shoes with a new generation of diverse, highly-skilled repairers. We pride ourselves on offering repairs that broaden our impact beyond “just leather” or “just shoes” and will happily take on heavy-weight textiles (denim, canvas, sports gear) or any project that we can service well. As cobblers, we are the original “up-cyclers” or “recycling industry”, and will happily work to keep any item out of a landfill. Our team welcomes projects that center cultural belonging, aiding a disability, or memorial projects.
Our Backgrounds
Ariss (30, they/them) started shining shoes to help pay for their arts and science degree at McGill, and fell in love with leatherwork. When they moved back to Vancouver, they apprenticed in local cobbling shops and opened a small sole proprietorship offering repairs out of a local leather consignment shop (East Side ReRides). In 2022, Ariss started to learn hide tanning and maintains a personal natural tanning practice.
Tess (31, she/her) completed a Bachelors in Fine Arts at Concordia University studying bookbinding and papermaking. She learned shoe repair on-the-job in a cobbling shop and as sewist for a local boot-making company where she met Ariss. When not making repairing things at work or planning the next project, she can be found listening to a podcast, tending to her plants and sewing up a quilt.
Awl Together Leather is Western Canada’s only female*-owned and Canada’s first-and-only queer-owned shoe repair shop.