Traditional Cobblers repair footwear, such as replacing old soles, stitching up torn slippers and heels.
It has become popular after Singaporeans switched from clogs to modern footwear around 1950s. Cobblers normally worked in the open or in the tiny cubicles along the street pavements or along five-foot-ways (old corridors in Singapore which Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore, stipulated that shop houses must have a covered walkway of about five feet along its street front as to protect pedestrians from the hot tropical sun or rain). They usually occupied a specific location for years and cycled a cart laden with footwear repairing tools around housing estate.