Walk-In Leather Goods Repair in the Sunset: ODSY Workshop

ODSY Workshop will not quote a repair over the phone or by email. The husband-and-wife studio at 2039 Irving Street in the Sunset asks you to bring the shoe or bag to the counter, where Soojin or Yina will look at it and explain what the fix involves. No appointment is needed. That one rule shapes the whole visit, and it is why this is a leather goods repair stop for people who like to see the work up close.

The business began with a single bag. Yina wanted a simple leather envelope clutch and could not find one she liked, so Soojin made it for her. The result was good enough that the couple started a leather goods label together and named it ODSY, pronounced odd-see, after the word odyssey. Their pitch is simple, timeless pieces built by hand from leather sourced in the USA.

Repair came later and almost by accident. In 2015 they moved into a small shop on Taraval Street that had been Paul's Shoe Repair for nearly three decades. Paul, whom the shop calls the neighborhood's superstar cobbler, was ready to retire, so the couple apprenticed under him and kept the counter running for locals. In 2020 ODSY moved again, to its current space on Irving Street.

The services page reads like a cobbler's ledger: heels, soles, half-soles and mid-soles, general shoe alterations, suede and leather cleaning, leather care, shines, shoe stretching and zipper replacement. Bags get a dedicated line covering strap repair, hardware replacement and custom alteration. There is also general heavy-duty fabric repair, which is rarer than it sounds and useful for canvas totes and waxed-cotton field bags.

Sole materials are named outright. ODSY works with Vibram from Italy, Topy from France, Good Year from the USA and Dainite from the UK, along with other imported and American-made materials. If you care whether your boots come back with a studded Dainite sole or a lug pattern, say so at drop-off, because the person taking your order is the same person who will do the work.

Several San Francisco brands send their own customers here. The workshop lists repair partnerships with BRYR in Dogpatch, Clare V. in Hayes Valley, John Fluevog Shoes in Haight-Ashbury and Mohinders in the Sunset. If you own a pair of BRYR clogs or a Clare V. clutch that needs a new strap, you are bringing it to the bench those shops already trust with their own products.

The shop's reasoning is practical: problems vary, and a photo rarely shows how deep a tear goes or whether the leather around a broken rivet will hold a new one. So the rule stands. Visit the store for a ballpark estimate, or to find out whether the piece can be repaired at all. The site says plainly that you can come any time they are working, with no booking required.

That makes ODSY a poor fit for one kind of customer: someone shopping prices across town by text before leaving the house. If you need an immediate number, Sunset Shoe Repair on Irving Street, a longer-running shop about fourteen blocks east, publishes a price list online. If you want a careful conversation about whether a favorite bag is worth saving, the walk-in visit here is the better deal.

Beyond repairs, the workshop takes small custom projects. It is currently accepting custom apron orders for restaurants, coffee shops and workshops, and it invites customers to stop by or email with ideas for something special. Wholesale is off the table: the about page says the volume of repair work means they cannot take wholesale orders right now, so do not expect to stock a boutique from here.

If you bought something from ODSY directly and it needs a repair after everyday use, stitching repairs on those pieces are free of charge, and other fixes are priced case by case. Most products are made to order, and in-stock items ship within three business days. Customers who order online can choose in-store pickup at checkout and collect the piece at the Irving Street counter.

Empty the bag completely and bring any loose parts, like a snapped buckle tongue or the stray end of a strap, in a zip-top bag. Hardware replacement goes faster when the original piece can be matched. For shoes, bring the pair even if only one is damaged, since a new heel on one side and a worn heel on the other will make you walk unevenly.

Leather cleaning is a separate service from repair, and suede cleaning is listed alongside it. If a tote has both a broken strap and water stains, ask whether to do both at once or fix the strap first and live with the patina. The couple make bags themselves, so they will tell you honestly when a stain is part of the leather's character rather than damage.

Golden Gate Park is one block north of Irving at Lincoln Way, and a short walk inside brings you toward Stow Lake, where paddleboats circle Strawberry Hill. Back on Irving, the blocks between 19th and 25th Avenues are lined with Cantonese bakeries, noodle houses and small produce markets, which makes picking up lunch while the shop works on your strap an easy part of the trip.

For the ride home or onward, the N Judah streetcar runs on Judah Street two blocks south of the shop and continues west to Ocean Beach at the end of the line. A clear afternoon at the beach, with the wind off the Pacific, is the classic Sunset way to spend the time between dropping off a bag and picking it up again.

Address: 2039 Irving Street, San Francisco, CA 94122. Email: odsyworkshop@gmail.com. No appointment needed for repairs, and estimates are given only in person at the shop. Services include soles, heels, zippers, stretching, leather and suede cleaning, and bag strap and hardware repair. Stitching repairs on pieces bought directly from ODSY are free. Custom apron orders are open.