Author Archives: customboots

Unknown's avatar

About customboots

I'm a custom cowboy boot maker. I own a business, Sorrell Custom Boots, and I create bespoke cowboy boots using vintage machinery and hand tools. I also own www.sorrellnotionsandfindings.com, a company that specializes in tools, supplies, and leather for the boot and shoe making trade.

Be careful!

Posted on September 16, 2020 by customboots

The soles are finished and now I’m ready to begin building the heels. If I’m careful I won’t mar the shiny finish when I’m leveling the heels.

Posted in boot maker, Cowboy Boots | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s a small request…

Posted on September 14, 2020 by customboots

A friend sent me a whole box of vintage cowboy boot catalogs–to look at for a while, not to keep. Now I need someone to find me an eccentric billionaire who’ll pay me to do nothing but reproduce cool vintage … Continue reading →

Posted in boot maker | Leave a comment

Almost authentic

Posted on September 9, 2020 by customboots

I was invited to give a video demonstration at the shoemaker’s conference I try to attend in England in February every year; it will be a virtual conference in 2021. I finished filming the rough draft of my video a … Continue reading →

Posted in boot maker, Cowboy Boots | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Why not today

Posted on September 8, 2020 by customboots

It’s a good day for a pair of wayward soles to find their destination and purpose.

Posted in boot maker, Cowboy Boots | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Inseaming

Posted on September 2, 2020 by customboots

It’s hard for me to sit still through long phone calls, or Zoom calls, or Facetime calls; I feel trapped and claustrophobic. Yesterday I was inseaming a pair of boots and I propped up my iPad and did a Zoom … Continue reading →

Posted in boot maker, Cowboy Boots | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Progress (finally)

Posted on August 26, 2020 by customboots

Have you ever had a project that glared at you with accusation and judgement every time you walked past? This pair of boots has spent the last three weeks doing their best to make me feel guilty and irresponsible, but … Continue reading →

Posted in boot maker, Cowboy Boots | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Sigh of relief…

Posted on August 26, 2020 by customboots

This is the machine that’s made my life miserable for the past three weeks, and the pair of boots I’ve been trying to side seam for the same amount of time. Prepare for a long post, because I have things … Continue reading →

Posted in boot maker, Cowboy Boots | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Me, playing around

Posted on August 21, 2020 by customboots

Sneak peek of a project I’m working on for myself until that Straight Needle plate I desperately need is finished. I could have had those side seams done by hand several times over by now if I’d known it was … Continue reading →

Posted in boot maker, Cowboy Boots | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Testing looks good!

Posted on August 14, 2020 by customboots

Test last for the cowboy boot shoes. I’ve always had some sort of innate ability to visualize how pattern pieces should be shaped and how they fit together–until I began making shoes. Shoe linings confound me. I am pleased to … Continue reading →

Posted in boot maker, Cowboy Boots | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Leather Art

Posted on August 12, 2020 by customboots

This is a demonstration of why a machine cannot duplicate what I do with leather, and why I have little use for a Bell Skiver or a computerized sewing machine. Work this fine can only be done by hand. That … Continue reading →

Posted in boot maker, Cowboy Boots | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment