Lisa Sorrell, cowboy boot maker

I remember once when I worked for Jay Griffith; we were making a pair of boots with a chocolate top and hot pink inlays. We didn’t have any hot pink thread so Jay told me to stitch around the hot pink inlays with red thread. I argued with him and came very close to refusing — completely convinced that he was wrong and the boots would look terrible — but when I finished, even I would have sworn that the red thread was indeed hot pink. That’s when I learned that thread colors on leather will surprise you occasionally and not look the way you imagined.

Boots are named “Always Wanting You”

Joe, the owner of these boots, was one of my very first customers when I started my own business. He stuck with me through poorly-made boots and boots that didn’t fit, and he always believed in me and encouraged me. I think it’s safe to say that Joe is one of the reasons I made it in the cowboy boot business — I can easily imagine giving up in despair without the support of customers like Joe.

This boot features a high vamp; the foot part extends up the leg. It’s technically difficult to do but he loved this style and requested it repeatedly until I finally worked up the courage to try it.

They’re named “Bluebonnet Lane” in honor of Joe’s home state of Texas.

A western lace-up boot is called a packer, and I believe this was the first pair of packers I made. As you can see, I always find opportunity for design in blank spaces. I made these boots for myself and they were never featured in a book — only on my own website — but a few years after making them I attended the Western English and Sales Association in Denver and found an exact copy of them in the booth of one of the boot factories. No one ever officially asks me to design for them but they sure find my work inspiring.

Bracelet for a friend, with inlaid and stitched pheasant feathers

When I first started making boots I somehow knew it was important to have professional pictures taken of each pair when I completed them; this is why I have thirty years of quality photos of boots I’ve made. There was a photographer in Guthrie named Bob Bozarth. He’d agreed to take boot photos for Jay Griffith in exchange for boots but never got them (and didn’t get paid for the photos either) so when I approached him about boot photos he wasn’t sure he even wanted my cash. Over the years though, we became friends and I enjoyed visiting with him when I completed a pair of boots.

After Bob retired his son Robert took over the business and Robert became my friend as well. He was kind and patient if I was running late, and he had a delightful laugh. I believe it was Robert who took this photo of me one day while I was waiting to have my boots photographed.

Robert eventually closed the business but he sold me a table and some lights and encouraged me to buy a good camera and learn to take my own photos, which I have done. He moved to another town and we didn’t see each other again. He died recently, as a result of a terrible car accident, and my world is a little less bright knowing that Robert is no longer in it.

Some boot makers start with the outermost row, but I was trained to begin with the innermost row. It really depends on what style of design you’re doing — with this one, accurately defining the unstitched space in the middle is crucial, so it makes sense to begin on the inside.

This work is done one row at a time on my vintage Singer 110W that still has the old clutch motor. I learned to sew leather on the exact same style of machine and motor, and it’s like learning to drive on a stick shift. It makes learning harder but once you master it, you can drive pretty much anything.

First time to use and stitch my new logo. I like it.

This customer brought me a much-loved pair of tiny cowboy boots she’d worn as a child and asked me to make her an exact reproduction that she could wear as an adult. I hope she’s still making happy memories in them.