The lightning bolt at the toe will wear off with time… the other won’t. (Boots by Hollywood Riff Raff.)
Category Archives: Design & Materials
A Game of Peek-a-Boot 1
I got a new pair of custom made cowboy boots… and they’re swell.
I could post a photo toe-to-top, like I usually do… but nah, not this time. I will post photos one boot characteristic at a time, so you can soak in all the wowie-zowieness …and you can play the game of puzzling the pieces together.
Okay, let’s start. Here is sole of the boot, up near the toe. It holds a clue to the boot’s maker… Can you guess who it is? (You can look for clues and type your guesses in the comment section, below.)
Bad Manners
What do you get when you cross a cowboy boot with a skate board? Tin Haul is aim at the teen rodeo market, graffiti colors… unruly.
Designed by grown-ups who obviously wanted to do something that’s never been done before… and in their excitement lost all sense and designed something that shouldn’t be done ever …place a portrait of a woman on the sole of a cowboy boot.
Rude.
Why don’t we have an “obvious sole” with a eye-catching American flag? or a maybe cross? Hey! Maybe do a print-on-demand set up with the teen’s actual grandmother, mother or English teacher?
Grrrrrr.
(Tin Haul cowboy boots made by Stetson > a.k.a Roper, a.k.a Karman, Inc. What do you think?)
Cowboy Boot Photo Glossary – Inlay
Inlay:
Shapes are cut out of a boot top, and layers of colorful leather are placed underneath. The inlays are held in place with one or more rows of stitching.
A simple, wonderful pair vintage boots. The the red hearts and the white flashes are inlay …bordered by 2 rows of yellow stitches.
Inlay can be crude, like it was pounded out with a cookie cutter. In the 1950’s, the factory makers of kids cowboy boots were clever at this—simple punchy shapes like pistols, stars, longhorns and ponies. Yee haw!
Inlay can be fancy. Here is a special “behind the scenes” look at leather inlay. The cowboy boots made by Texas Traditions (Austin, TX) have an undeniably elegant look… this photo essay teaches you a few of the shop secrets. Even their simple designs get a fine touch. The shapes are cut into the boot tops using a sharpened blade fashioned from a sewing machine needle. The leather inlay pieces are thinned down at their edges with a sharp knife (“skived.”) And, the rows of stitched are placed one at a time. Beautiful.
You can see more finished boots made by Lee Miller, here.
Unfortunately, the shop is no longer accepting new customers.
Photo by Marty Snortum.
“Houston” by Wheeler Boot Co. (Part 2)
“After” Dave Wheeler spent 200+ hours drawing, cutting, piecing, stitching and hammering.
I am intrigued by this class of cowboy boot, the “wowie-zowie” or “killer” cowboy. The cowboy boot that is more decorated than not. The boot that holds your attention for a very very long time.
It takes a special bootmaker paired with a unique customer to build a boot like this. The bootmaker needs to be on top of their game… with a special eye for color and symmetry. Creativity only counts for something if you have the stitchwork to pull it off.
AND… this same bootmaker needs to keep the shop’s other customer orders moving along, even as this landmark boot gets built piece by piece. A true talent. Dave estimated he put in 10-12 hours, every 2 weeks, for more than 8 months… and then each and every weekend nearing the rodeo deadline on his “Houston” boots.
The customer needs a heart-felt passion for the project, unwavering confidence in their bootmaker… and a credit card.
Tips on building your “killer” cowboy boot…
- Become your bootmaker’s favorite customer. I’m COMPLETELY serious…. you need to be ordering matching belts, sending Christmas cards, and bringing in boot orders from your friends.
- Try and convince your maker to enter a contest or competition. Most folks order plain boots, your boots represents a unique chance for the bootmaker to show-off.
- Resist the urge to micro-manage. You are paying the bootmaker for their expertise, let ’em use it. Besides, no bootmaker is gonna want to spend 200 hours on what feels like a paint-by-number project. If you’re hovering over the stitches and thread color, you’ve gone too far.
- Don’t even think about ordering these “for Christmas” …or worse, a wedding. No way.
