“It has been suggested that cowboys had small feet because they spent so much time in the saddle that their feet never spread. In the 1920s, Justin boots ranged from size four to nine, and eight and nine were considered large. Today, Justin boot sizes begin at eight and range to eighteen, quite a sizable difference!”
Excerpted from the children’s book Ranch Dressing: The Story of Western Wear by M. Jean Greelaw (1993)
After long military career, area man returns to passion: Handmade boots
By Staci Semrad, Abilene Reporter News (May 24, 2005)
After 20 years in the Air Force, Brian Thomas has returned to his beloved craft.
Last November, he opened Brian Thomas Boots at 363 E. S. 11th St., where he makes and repairs boots.
Starting a business for the first time didn’t daunt him. Craftsmen like him have other worries, he said, such as making boots fit.
”That’s our biggest fear, because that’s what it’s all about,” he said.
Making boots requires patience, attention to detail and a knack for estimating.
”It’s not an exact science,” he said. ”There’s a tremendous amount of guesswork.”
The custom fit attracts people to handmade boots, he said. He spends about 200 hours on each pair and charges $750 and up.
When a customer orders a pair, he determines what type of boot to make by determining how the customer will use the boot. The customer chooses the type and color of leather, and Thomas takes about 11 measurements on each of the customer’s feet before building the boots.
”The last comes first,” he said, noting that the ”last” – a model of the foot – is the hardest and most important part of the process.
He constructs a last to be the same size and shape as the customer’s foot with layers of leather, using an electric finisher to grind and shape it.
”This is where you sweat blood,” he said.
From that model last, he constructs the boot from the top down and ends with a boot – well -made to last.
Thomas’s interest in boot making formed in his youth. He grew up in Southern California and worked at a shoe repair and leather store through his teenage years. Throughout high school, he had wanted to learn how to make boots.
”When I was a senior, I already knew where I was going,” he said.
Oklahoma State Tech was then regarded as the authority in boot-making education, so he signed up for its two-year program and moved to Okmulgee, Okla. He then worked for two years making and repairing boots at a Western wear store in Oklahoma.
Looking back, he figures he learned more from the latter.
”The best way is to skip the college and go and work for a boot maker,” he said. ”Any time you can get in with a small shop, you’ll get a lot more experience.”
He then became an apprentice boot maker for Tex Robin at his shop in Coleman. Thomas talks about Robin like he’s the big dog of boot making.
”If I had a master’s degree, Tex Robin would be well above a Ph.D.,” Thomas said.
Robin said Thomas does a fine job.
”He does it almost like I do,” Robin said. ”You probably couldn’t tell the difference between our work.”
Thomas worked under Robin’s wing for five years.
”That’s when the big switch came,” Thomas said. ”I was turning 27, and I still wanted to serve my country, so I ran away and joined the Air Force. … I just thought I’d serve four years.”
Twenty years later, on Feb. 1 of this year, he retired from the military.
Before retiring, he got back into boot making and began acquiring the necessary equipment. His shop is as custom-made as his boots, with chairs, worktables and machinery built up to accommodate Thomas, who stands 6-foot-4.
”The little people have to bring stilts at night to work in my shop,” he joked.
Photo Credit: Ronald W. Erdrich / Abilene Reporter-News
It’s not often you get a story like this. Although, it’s probably the only way to get rich making custom boots…take a bunch of orders and simply pocket the money. (No subscription is needed to view this article.)
Note: Accepted business practice is for the customer to pay half the price of custom boots at the time he/she places the order, and the remainder at pick-up (or just prior to delivery.)
Here’s a short article in the Times Record News about Mr. Armando Dominguez in Burkburnett, TX.
(If you want to skip the “subscription process…type “news@dimlights.com” for your email address and “news” for your password.)
“It is with regret that we officially announce OSU-Okmulgee’s decision to close our Shoe, Boot & Saddle program of study. NO new students will be accepted for enrollment this spring 2005, and SBS technical courses will be offered only through December 2005.” (Source)
Yes, the rumors are true…Oklahoma State is closing it’s Boot & Saddlemaking Program*, but all is not lost. I spoke with longtime instructor Mike DeWitt today and he tells me the program will be moved to nearby Green Country Technology Center.
You can contact the Center at (918) 758-0840.
Details will follow, but students will begin their courses in August 2005.
Mr. DeWitt thinks the move will benefit both the program and its new students. The program will be housed in a brand new building …custom-built to meet its instructional and equipment needs. And students will no longer be burdened with general education requirements like history, math and speech classes.
Mike DeWitt has agreed to follow the program to its new location…at least long enough to make sure it gets off to a good strong start.
*OSU-Okmulgee’s Boot & Saddle program is the only one of it’s kind remaining in the United States.
Alumni of the OSU program include:
If you would like to add names to this list, please use the “comments” link below.
