What inspired you to become a bootmaker?

Necessity. My father was a lifelong rancher and after one summer working on his ranch at age 10, it was necessary for me to find something else to do in the summers and after school! Coming from a tiny town of less than 300, there were not a lot of employment opportunities for an 11 year old. So I jumped on the first opportunity that was available. He said “Can you sew welt?” I replied “What is welt?” Continue reading →

What inspired you to become a bootmaker?

It’s always been clear to me that if I ever had passion for a career what I needed was the right mix of creativity and structure, with a reasonable amount of madness. As the only Brooklyn boy that wore boots to school I was reassured that the teenager is quite possibly the most ruthless animal god put on the planet. It was there in James Madison High School’s crowded hallways, following the roar of mocking laughter, that I decided to never wear boots again. It happened just after the football team captain’s loud and piercing crowd-pleaser “Yo Edie! Where’d you park your horse?!?!”  Continue reading →

Alan Bell remembers “It was ‘pay day’ with money sticking out of my pockets.” Tex placed the bills there before he took picture.

What inspired your love of cowboy boots?

I get asked this over and over. The truth is… I really don’t know. I just love how I feel when I wear cowboy boots. Strong. Steady.
In 1997, I picked up a secondhand copy of Tyler Beard’s Cowboy Boot Book. When I opened it, it was like looking at a treasure map. Something inside me lit up. I wanted to go to those places and meet the people on those pages. Continue reading →