Sam Muzumbi, a 7th Street Melville street vendor upcycles tyres and turns them into shoes.
Muzumbi is 7th Street’s Michael Schumacher of shoe making with his signature hardy tyre soles. The crafty shoe maker is originally from Zimbabwe. He left his home country to start afresh in South Africa and has been selling his upcycled shoes as well other crafts for nine years.
His shoes are handmade from leather, a skill he learned from his brother.
“It takes about a day to make a pair of shoes. Sometimes we use machines for specific pairs,” he explained.
During the last nine years, his corner stall has gone from being a shoe-only vendor to having bags, hats and paintings.
“I paint but I don’t paint as much as I used to. I only show some of my work on the street. We used to have many different kinds of things but if people don’t buy it’s a waste so we only produce a little of the different things we have at a time,” he said.
Muzumbi is passionate about crafts and has hopes of opening a shop on 7th once he can get the resources together. When business doesn’t go well for him, he does extra work where he can find it.
“It’s street life but I enjoy it. I’m doing what I love doing.”
