Lisa Sorrell, cowboy boot maker

This is a link to Part Two of speed boot making on my YouTube show “It’s a Boot Life.”

This is a collaboration I did a few years ago with John Gallis of Norseman Designs in Cody, Wyoming.

There’s a funny story about these boots; they’re a reproduction of an old Olsen Stelzer design with the last name added. When the lady ordered the boots she said, “I want an oil derrick on the boots because my family was in oil.” And I was thinking to myself, “Gee, I wish my family had thought of that! My family was in… poverty.”

I foresee much skiving in my future.

Whoops, there was one more design inside me.
Whenever people tell me that my designs or sense of color are “feminine” I reply that everything I know about color and design I learned from a grumpy old alcoholic man.

In my shop, this is how I create all of the pattern pieces for an inlaid design. A typical boot top is four panels–two fronts and two backs. Assuming the design is symmetrical, each design element is repeated either four or eight times. Cutting a pattern for each piece ensures that I can repeat it accurately.