New Soles For Old Souls
With Rachel Black, from Baxter & Black, Enmore Road.
I walked into Baxter & Black with a pair of boots that had clearly seen better days. Too many nights out, too many gigs, and not nearly enough care had left them looking pretty dishevelled. Worn down, scuffed up and in need of some serious attention. The kind of wear that tells a story, but also makes it clear they’re not done yet.
Inside, it’s all leather, tools and quiet focus. The kind of place where you immediately feel like your things are in good hands. Rachel runs the space, and what she’s built here goes well beyond a standard repair shop. It’s a high-end artisan workshop, restoring shoes and bags with a level of care and precision that’s hard to come by. There’s a quiet confidence to it all, nothing rushed, everything considered.
“We fix what you can’t fix,” she says, and looking around, you believe it.
The work is precise. A team of specialists, cobblers, leatherworkers, craftspeople, each focused on their part of the process. From everyday repairs through to designer pieces and even museum-level work, everything is treated with the same respect for the object and the story behind it.
Rachel chose Newtown deliberately. A business like this could have landed in Paddington, but here it feels different. More grounded. More connected to the people who actually use it. Locals drop in, regulars come back, and people travel across Sydney & beyond because they know it’s worth it.
That connection plays out constantly. There’s a steady rhythm of people coming through the door, someone needing an extra hole punched in a belt, a watch resized, a key cut on the spot. Small jobs, quick fixes, but all part of the same ecosystem. It keeps the space alive, personal, and always in motion.
Rachel describes Newtown in one word: grunge. Not in a nostalgic way, but as something that still sits at the core of the area. A mix of music, culture and character that hasn’t been polished out. It’s part of why the shop works here. It belongs.
There’s also something about the space itself. Inspired by old European cobbler shops, it’s welcoming, tactile, and quietly beautiful. You’ll see people stop to take photos, others lingering a little longer than planned, chatting over the counter about what they’ve brought in.
What struck me most is that nothing here is disposable. Everything’s worth saving, no matter
how far gone it seems. My boots included.
In a place like Newtown, where character matters, Baxter & Black feels right at home. Not just fixing things, but giving them another run.
Baxter & Black
20 Enmore Rd, Newtown NSW 2042
@baxterandblack
baxterandblack.com