Lisa Sorrell, cowboy boot maker

A few weeks ago, a museum contacted me about an exhibit. They had a large selection of boot maker’s tools and needed to narrow it down to eight or ten to display in the exhibition. I gave my advice, but then I began thinking about which ten boot making tools I would choose to represent my craft. Here are ten of my most-loved hand tools.

(For the curious, the tools with green tape on them stay on a shared bench. The green tape means LEAVE THIS TOOL ON THE GREEN TAPE BENCH AND DON’T WANDER OFF WITH IT. Have I ever mentioned that I’m a curmudgeon?)

“Sing Me Back Home”

Discussing fitting lasts with my shoemaker friend Martin from Germany

*Getting* the last out of a pair of boots isn’t always a good time, but *having* the last out of a pair of boots is a wonderful feeling.

I’ll be building heels on these boots all day, one layer at a time. This photo is already outdated; I have two layers on and will add a third when I get back from walking to the post office. I’m choosing thin layers for these heels to make it look very dressy and sharp, so it will probably require six to eight layers to reach the desired heel height.

I received the nicest email yesterday from the new owner of these boots:
“I wanted to thank you for the wonderful boots! I realized that I never sent a thank you note to you and I want to apologize for that.
They are definitely a work of art and will be cherished FOREVER!!!”
This pair is titled “Someday When Things Are Good”