Malam Sani Bello
Founder and cobbler
Thirty years of heels and soles. Can tell a shoe's story from its wear. Names are invented for this demo.
Home The workshop
The workshop
One bench, eighteen years.
Heel & Key started in 2008 as a cobbler's box under a mango tree on Bank Road. Today it is a shop with two sewing machines, two key machines, a finishing wheel and a long wooden bench where customers wait.
Our years
From a box to a bench.
- 01
2008, the box
Malam Sani started with a wooden box of tools, a last and a pot of glue under the mango tree on Bank Road.
- 02
2012, the first shop
A small shop in the plaza, and the first hand cranked sewing machine.
- 03
2016, keys
Customers kept asking. We added a key machine, then a second one for mortice keys.
- 04
2022, the long bench
A wooden bench for customers to sit and watch while they wait.
- 05
2026, before and after
We started photographing our jobs. You can see them on this site.
The people
Who works the bench.
Aisha Bello
Front counter and leather
Writes every ticket, prices every job and does the hand stitching.
Joseph Audu
Keys and locks
Runs both key machines and goes out on lock jobs in Barnawa.
The tools
What is on the bench.
Heavy sewing machine
Stitches through three layers of thick leather for soles and bag seams.
Finishing wheel
Sands and burnishes heels and sole edges so repairs look factory made.
Two key machines
One for flat keys and one for mortice and dimple keys.
Shoe lasts
Wooden and iron forms in every size, for stretching and resoling.
What we promise
Four rules on the wall.
- Honest advice. If it is not worth repairing, we say so.
- Price before work. Written on your ticket, every time.
- Thirty days. If a repair fails with normal wear, we redo it free.
- Waste less. Every repair is one less pair in the bin.
Come and sit on the bench
Bring a pair of tired shoes and watch them come back.