A family business is preserving a trade and giving it new life from its headquarters in Columbia thanks to a growing global following.

For nearly a decade Potter & Sons, has been reviving the art of the shoe cobbler, introducing the labor-intensive trade to a new generation of customers interested in preserving a classic look and bringing new life to shoes that have lasted for decades.

Owners Norm Potter and his sons Trent and Heath Potter envisioned a repair shop that was upscale, focused on selling only the highest quality products and specializing in refurbishing fine, luxurious shoes.

After launching the business in Brentwood in 2012, Potter & Sons has established its new home and headquarters in Maury County inside The Factory at Columbia, a revitalized former shirt factory at 101 North James Campbell Blvd.

One could call it a perfect fit.

"It feels good to be a part of something new," Trent Potter said. "It is great to be one of the first stores to move in [to The Factory at Columbia]. It will be really neat to see everyone built out once everything is done. It will also be great to see all of the foot traffic."

The site is owned by Darrell Lynn, an entrepreneur who is transforming the former industrial space into a shopping center and base for his European antique furniture importing business.

Potter said the family decided to move their business to Columbia when the old location in Williamson County became too cramped to meet the needs of the growing business.

Following a move to Columbia by Heath Potter several years earlier, the family made the decision to move the entire business south.

"We decided to move to Columbia when we outgrew the shop that we had been in Brentwood," Potter said. "As we hired more people, we felt good about coming to a smaller town."

The new location also serves as the headquarters and retail space for the family's own brand of high-end leather sandals, Southern Polished.

The brand uses full grain steer and bison hides and tack straps, following the traditions of Italian sandal makers by providing a better hold.

The shoe's soles are made from stacked leather heel blocks, as opposed to plastic ones wrapped in leather strip, and assembled with trench stitching for added durability.

With the men's products currently being manufactured in Mexico, the family plans to move their entire manufacturing process to Columbia.

"We will have one of the only leather sandal brands making products in the United States here in Columbia," Potter said.

Although set in traditions of the past, the Potters' business is geared toward the future with the two bothers drawing hundreds of thousands of views on their You Tube channel.

Hosted by the two brothers, the channel is nearing 300,000 subscribers and garnering about 1 million views each month, offering guidance on shoe care and maintenance.

"We just started answering the questions that people were asking us," Potter said.

Launched in 2019, the brother's growing viewership has continued to bolster business with 95% of their customers originating from their online videos.

From their new home in Columbia, the family is now doing business with shoe-lovers across the globe.

"It is really neat that we are making a difference in some small way across the world and growing on the local level, and as we grow, we will bring new jobs to the community as well," Potter said. "We are very excited to bring all that business to Columbia."

To learn more visit, https://www.potterandsons.com/ and https://www.southernpolished.com/.

Reach Mike Christen at mchristen@c-dh.net. Follow him on Twitter at @MikeChristenCDH and on Instagram @michaelmarco. Please consider supporting his work and that of other Daily Herald journalists by subscribing to the publication.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Tennessee's upscale shoe cobblers make a new home in Columbia