Digitization was the way back

Photo Mats Engfors/Fotographic

Booking repairs on the web and leave your shoes in a cupboard – corona-friendly, durable and simple. After a series of coincidences, traditional craftsmanship meets digital technology in Jonas shoemaker’s new venture.

For 13 years, Jonas Samuelsson was Boden’s only shoemaker and tried to help everyone. He never knew how many customers would come and had no way to control the flow. The workload became higher and higher and eventually the situation became unsustainable.

– It became a stress and I never felt that I had time to finish, I had tried to look for staff but without success. So I took a break and I did not think I would come back, says Jonas.

Earlier in life, Jonas worked as a property manager and he wanted to do it again. When the municipality in the spring of 2020 offered adjustment support due to Covid-19, he sent in an application and used the support to refresh his knowledge in property management. Before the summer, Boden Business Park was looking for a part-time property manager and Jonas got the job.

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A new idea

He was away from the shoemaking profession for two years, but over time, a longing for the craft within him began to build up. When he saw that several of his old colleagues had to strike back in the suites of the pandemic, the first thoughts of a digitization of the shoemaking business appeared.

– I wanted to find my way back to the craft and combine it with property management. I could not really let go of the idea, and had I not ended up here at Boden Business Park, I would never have gotten shot. It is a creative environment here with many enterprising people.

Through a series of coffee breaks, lunch talks and meetings, Jonas got in touch with the programmer Kristoffer Bylund at KBD Teknik and the web designer Petter Samuelsson at EZ Web and a fruitful collaboration took off.

– Kristoffer immediately understood what I wanted to do and has been a mainstay together with Petter, says Jonas.

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Cabinet with code lock

Then the development went very fast. At the end of September, they started working on the idea and in November, the concept was tested in sharp mode. Customers can now book their repairs online and then drop off and pick up shoes, bags, jackets and knives in a code-locked locker at Boden Business Park.

– The feedback I received is overwhelmingly positive. Many people think that it is easy when you get cost proposals before and that you can pay with Swish and they like the opening hours.

Optimizes time

EZ Web has made the web shop and KBD Teknik is responsible for the programming in the background that makes everything with bookings and cabinets flow. Jonas is similar to the digital services he buys as an extra resource that receives orders.

– It’s fun to be up and running and it works well. It’s a fresh start for me. I can control the workload and the flow in a different way and have a better working environment.

In the mornings, Jonas is a property manager with colleagues at Boden Business Park and in the afternoons he is a shoemaker in his workshop at home in the villa. And that’s exactly how he wants it.

– I prefer to take on minor repairs so that I can help as many as possible. I like to work with my hands but also the environmental thinking, to not just throw everything away. Those who book me make an active choice and a service to the environment while supporting a local company. #

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