I’m going to share this photo of a pair of boots I made for my son and then I’ll be out of my shop for the rest of the week. A family friend in West Virginia has died and I promised my mother I’d take her to the funeral when the day came.
This particular boot design is titled “Somewhere Between Right and Wrong” and I will admit that this pair skews very far towards wrong. If there was a mistake I could make, I made it. They do appear to be wearable and my son is forgiving, but goodness, I hope I do better the next time I try to pretend I’m a shoe maker.
A traditional cowboy boot is a four piece construction: the front top panel, the back top panel, the foot (called the vamp), and the counter (sturdy, heavy leather heel, covered by the visible part called the counter cover). Boot tops, where the decorative work is, are called exactly that — boot tops, not shafts. And now that you know the terminology, I can announce that the boot tops for this pair are completed!
I finished the Wake Robin flowers on the boot tops, took a quick photo with the band laid over the boot top so I could see how they look together, and cut out the little intertwining bands for the toe and heel.
The boots were made for singer/songwriter Joe Newberry and they’re named for one of his original compositions. Here’s a link if you’d like to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT46OSBgCo8
The final step in making a pair of cowboy boots is building and shaping the heels. I breathed a whole lot of leather dust when I was young and invincible. I try not to do that anymore.
The heels are rough-shaped here. I verified that they were both level, the same height, and had the same angle, and then I went home.
Pro Tip: When you tree a pair of finished boots, always hang the trees; never leave them standing in the boots. The weight of the tree will cause the instep to collapse and fall forward if they’re not hanging, and once that wrinkle is in the boots will always fall forward with an ugly wrinkle.
I suppose there’s nothing wrong with using a laser cutter if you have one but give me a nice quiet shop and a sharp knife, and I’ll be happily lost in meditation. Four boot tops all stacked neatly on top of each other, design precisely cut by hand.
I made these boots in 2005 for a generous customer who allowed me to follow my own vision. I was inspired by a western shirt I saw worn by Marty Stuart, and I entered them into the Boot and Saddlemakers Roundup competition that fall. I remember they called out the winners for my category and I was disappointed that I hadn’t won, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. They’d added a new category that year called Master’s Choice, and this was awarded to the one pair of boots from any category that was judged to be the best work entered. I was so surprised when they called my name and awarded me Master’s Choice for this pair!
The original customer is selling his boot collection now; he and his wife chose Flora to help sell the collection. It was a pleasure to see the boots again and I was hoping they’d go to a good home. This man is a banjo player who came in today to order a pair of boots from Flora. He did order a custom pair, but he spotted these and they fit him perfectly, so he bought them also. I’m delighted that they’ll be going to bluegrass festivals now, being on stage and listening to good music.
