Lisa Sorrell, cowboy boot maker

Guy comes in: I wanted to stop and see if you had any belts.
Me: No, I don’t.
Guy: WELL, I JUST THOUGHT I’D STOP AND ASK. I DIDN’T KNOW I WAS GOING TO GET CHEWED OUT. (as he’s walking out the door)
Me: …???
So now if there are rumors around town, the truth is out about the vile way I treat people who come into my shop.

Sixteen boxes will be picked up and shipped tomorrow, and behind them is a large shipment from Baker Leather that arrived today and still needs to be checked in and put away. This is how I spend those fun-filled days when I’m not building cowboy boots.

Today I took a knife making class in England with five of my shoemaker friends–four from Sweden and one from Switzerland. We had so much fun!

Many years ago I made a pair of boots that featured diving woodpeckers and I’ve always wondered what happened to them, because they were so obnoxiously wonderful. Tonight, I received an email from the client’s daughter. She kept the boots after his death and she sent me some photos.

A pair of boots I’m stretching, and a pair of boots that are almost finished

Freshly-laid soles with a double row of wood pegs

I’m tired and don’t want to lay soles today, but when I prepare soles the day before and they’re ready, I don’t really have a choice. I’ve put the soles on three boots and this is the final one!

I spent a peaceful afternoon inseaming boots. Many boot makers won’t go home until they complete a pair, and I only did a pair and a half, but I figure that second boot will still be here tomorrow!

Hahaha! If you’ve heard the story of how I became a boot maker, you know that Jay Griffith–the first boot maker I worked for–was a grumpy old alcoholic who used to scream and cuss at his employees, which terrified me. I found out today from one of those employees that I had a nickname: 96 Tears. They called me 96 Tears because I’d get all quiet and turn red and go cry in the bathroom.