Page 31 - Portrait 2011.qxd

customers are treated with kindness, and they come back.”

A key to why his company is strong, says Ankele, “is staying in place and taking the time getting to know your customers. You must earn their trust with good products.” Ankele started reupholstering his friend’s cars when he was a teenager. After graduating from Marshall High School and marrying his sweetheart at age16, his career progressed from there. Initially he worked for his dad and even-tually operated his own upholstery shop in Portland on Division Street. Believing that business was “good on the Westside” he relocated to downtown Tigard.

“You can’t start a business and let someone else run it,” says Ankele, whose great-grandfather Jacob Kepler started Kepler’s Upholstery with skills he learned in the guilds of Europe. “The profits would go in the toilet,” he laughs. “Any business is lucrative if you work at it. Small business is the way to go. We’ve had three generations of returning customers.”

That’s a big deal for Ankele to say.

Ankele also attributes his longevity to the personality of his personnel. Brian Ankele, has worked beside his brother for 27 years, managing the shop. The seamstress has been there for 15 years, and two of the upholsterers have logged 10 and 12 years. For three years, Kaelish Hudson has managed the shop. “She’s so valuable,” says Marvin of her interior design knowledge and people skills. “She’s an expert at assisting customers.”

The Vanek Beaverton Shoe Repair is run entirely by one family. Technical skills and quality service are

required to keep the famiy business successful. Two sons assist their mother and father full-time or part-time in Old Town Beaverton.

Besides standard heel and sole replacements, the shop offers custom shoe construction, dozens of shades of shoe polishes, Birkenstock repair, and about 200 pairs of western boots.

Western boots are catching on everywhere, and the Portland area is no exception. Western boots have hit the streets and according to Joe Vaneck the repair shop is selling about 25 to 50 pairs a month. “Western boot fashion has come and gone in surges since the ’90s,” he admits. “We’ve always had a great boot selection. We have Dan Post, Tony Lama, Justin and its sister company Nocona. And we carry specialty narrow sizes, EE, wide sizes and D-width, which 80 percent of the people wear.”

According to Joe, an orthopedics specialist and

fourth-generation Vanek shoe technician, “The shoe repair industry hasn’t changed much, but since 2008 repair has come back. The consciousness to reuse and repair has kept our customers returning, and word-of-mouth has helped boost our business.”

Fine shoe repair has been the standard at Vanek’s since Joe’s grandfather Carl learned the trade from his father, Carl. Of Czechoslovakian decent, Carl Jr. apprenticed in Austria and in 1963 established his first United States location in Portland’s Hollywood neighborhood. Joe’s grandfather opened his first shop in the late ’40s. The family has managed five different stores across the Portland metro area. Now only the downtown Beaverton site is open. In 1978 C. David took over a former shoe shop at the current spot in the middle of Broadway Street, south of Hall.

According to C. David, “Getting to know the commu-nity has not only been enjoyable but it’s why we have stayed put.” Joe, 44, lives in Beaverton, and his parents reside nearby in the West Hills. Joe’s younger brother David, 39, also is a Beaverton resident. Both sons have been repairing shoes and boots on and off since child-hood. Carolyn Vanek keeps books, updates the inventory and runs the counter. C. David runs the shop.

Housed in a historical building, the shoe and boot shop customizes shoes for people with special foot needs including diabetic foot, motion restraints, bunion and surgery recovery issues. Following a doctor’s recommen-dations Vanek’s builds custom footwear.

While the aging population increased, Joe developed his knowledge of orthopedics and earned certification as a pedorthist. He has partnerships with area foot doctors and specialists furthering the shop’s reputation.