I’ll be making a pair of boots soon that feature colored, carved dog portraits inlaid into the boot tops. The entire time the client and I have been discussing these boots, I have been completely unable to visualize how the portraits would be framed in the boot top and what sort of stitched design I could use to fill the empty space. I decided to just wait and not worry about it until I actually received the dog carvings, and then see if an idea would appear. It did!

The leather carvings are by Kathy Flanagan.