Photo: Lana Paiement
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Eli Campanaro
(contact)
Bootblack Toronto 2007
Toronto, ON, Canada
Eli has been getting dirty in leather since the age of 10.
Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, and an avid equestrian from an early age, Eli first learned how to properly maintain all things leather at the barn. This is also where a lifelong leather love affair began.
A little later in life, Eli discovered Patrick Califia's writings, and those of many other wonderful authors. He realized that he was not alone in his proclivities, and began the long walk down a very fragrant leather path.
Bootblacking grew naturally out of his love for motorcycles and horses, and the boots that go with them. It is a way to make contact with like-minded folks, to hone a skill, and to indulge a passion, and to practice an art. Sometimes it is purely service, sometimes it is more; in each case the same amount of care goes into the final product. The magic is in the first kiss of the brush on the polish, and the smile on the face of the owner of the boots once the job is done.
Throughout his title year, Eli has been working as a bootblack at MLT fundraising events and elsewhere, helped to teach bootblacking workshops in Toronto and Montreal, and was a judge at the North American Bootblack Competition in August of 2007.
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