Delwyn Thornton – A Renaissance Man for Today’s World
In 1984, Delwyn Thornton’s Dad announced that he was leaving his corporate job at Citibank, where he, Delwyn, and his other son worked, in order to start a shoe repair business in Brandon, Mississippi. When he stopped laughing, Delwyn asked his Dad, “Just who’s going to run this business for you?” His reply “You.”
The elder Thornton understood that Delwyn needed a career that challenged him and gave him an outlet for creativity and his love of working with his hands. While he may have been good as a banker, he was about to grow into a profession where he would stand out as exceptional. And after no time, his Dad realized that shoe repair was not the right fit for someone who struggled with tools, so Delwyn bought him out and Soles & Heels has been a one-man show since then.
A First Generation Cobbler Learning His Way
Before starting Soles and Heels, Brandon’s premier shoe repair professional started out in a shop in Memphis, where he learned the trade. Dedicated to continual learning, Delwyn took control of his own education, in an industry where skills are traditionally passed from father to son. Over the years, he has left his Brandon shoe repair shop in order to work in other shoe repair facilities throughout the country that were offering a technique or skill that he wanted to offer his clients.
Award-Winning Shoe Repair
To take his learning to the next level, Delwyn reached out to renowned Silver Cup Competition judge Robert DiRinaldo. He shipped some of his work to the esteemed judge with a request for feedback on the workmanship. The immediate response from DiRinaldo was that Delwyn needed to enter the Silver Cup Competition. After more encouraging, Delwyn finally gave in, with the goal of using the competition to build his business and fine-tune his skills.
He succeeded in doing so, being a multi-category winner over several years. Years of competing culminated in Delwyn Thornton receiving the Robert DiRinaldo Silver Cup Championship in 2000. It is the highest honor in the shoe repair industry and one that professionals can only receive once in a lifetime.
With that honor behind him, Delwyn decided to take part in another challenge. As an IRWIN tools user in his workshop; he was intrigued when he heard about a contest by the company. In 2010, he took part in and won the North American IRWIN Tools Ultimate Tradesman Challenge. His skill, precision and speed led him to beat out 3500 other tradespeople in the competition.
Whenever an opportunity arises for Brandon’s leading shoe repairman to further his skills, he grabs the opportunity and runs with it. This high level of commitment to personal growth has helped Delwyn Thornton develop an impressive reputation in the shoe repair industry both locally and nationally.
For over 30 years, Delwyn Thornton, has been the #1 choice for shoe repair in Brandon, Mississippi, and beyond. Come visit our shop and see all we have to offer!