Tag Archives: bespoke

This is adorable.

“Kansas City Star”

Here are the boot tops with the rest of the design elements stitched on, and the top band resting on the leather but not stitched yet.

Stitching on white leather is not easy. I deliberately planned the design so I’d be stitching with lighter colors (lavender, pale green) instead of darker colors (purple, turquoise) because lighter colors are a tiny bit easier to stitch and make … Continue reading →

This piece reminds me of a story: I have a friend who used to teach shoe making at a college. One day he was showing his students my work and they didn’t believe that I don’t have a laser or … Continue reading →

When I draw a design, I draw the stitch lines. In other words, if I’m drawing an element that will be inlaid, the pattern line isn’t where I’ll cut, it’s where I’ll stitch. If I drew the line where I … Continue reading →

All the inlay/overlay pieces are cut and skived for this pair of boots. You’ll notice that the pink pieces are carefully cut to their final shape and the other bits of leather are amorphous blobs. That’s because the pink pieces … Continue reading →

I know several boot makers who are using lasers to cut their intricate patterns and since I’m not the boss of boot making I have no desire to try and make them stop it. But I always think, “WHERE’S THE … Continue reading →

Trimming the shank area after laying the soles is one of my favorite things. It’s challenging to do accurately and get both boots to match, there are zero second chances, it’s difficult to explain and teach, and the curves are … Continue reading →