Ask the Bootmaker podcast with Graham Ebner
- grew up in Texas
- had loved to sew since childhood
- always loved shoes
- had some Red Wing Iron Rangers used
- wore for years
- insoles started listing
- repair shops said no to fixing
- started looking on the Internet in 2015
- Lisa Sorrell videos
- Honourable Cordwainers' Company
- found Brian Truong / Brian the Bootmaker on Instagram
- resoled a pair
- stapped thumb with jerk needle, had to cut it out
- resoled some Tony Lamas
- shed in the back
- needed supplies, searched for boot shops nearby, found Texas Traditions
- left a bunch of voicemail
- called him back
- gave him the tour and some wax and other supplies
- really pesters people
- another apprentice had got a grant before
- getting another grant didn’t work out
- came in a couple afternoons a week for several months, did repair work
- got hired
- eventually bottom work on new pairs
- eventually top work after that
- left in October of 2021
- about four years at Texas Traditions
- Lee the best maker living or dead, better than Charlie was
- he loves to teach
- apprenticeships very rare, because most makers don’t make big money
- Lee always looking for the next step to make it better
- lived within walking distance of Texas Traditions
- more learning resources now
- more young people interested now than five years ago
- handmade craft resurgence generally
- pottery, leatherwork, garments
- younger people don’t feel competitiveness
- older generation used to feel that way
- before, the bootmaker was local, very territorial
- now everyone has customers from all over the world
- optimistic about the business
- there will be customers around
- boots embedded in fashion like blue jeans
- goes in and out of trend, but baseline is there
- favorite exotic: alligator or kangaroo
- hasn’t made an alligator pair under his own name since leaving Texas Traditions
- prefers big animals, small plates
- bias/diagonal cut versus straight cut alligator vamps
- big plates landing in the wrong spots on the foot cause problems
- splits
- style versus Texas Traditions
- still developing
- enjoys illustration and cartoons
- draws on own time
- doesn’t like just doing a brand in the front and nothing else
- doesn’t just want to make super traditional stuff
- “I want to do wierd stuff”
- not new, crazy stuff has been done before
- Rios of Mercedes and RocketBuster
- very time consuming
- very expensive
- wants to be more on the art end of the spectrum
- OK with making boots to put on shelves
- sculpture
- “I pretty much only want to make stuff that I like”
- lots of great other makers to cover it
- turn ideas into art, art into boots
- “I’m easily distracted”
- wants to make art, happens to make cowboy boots
- wasn’t into art before shoes and boots
- tops as blank space for whatever
- “you can go to work at the bank and no one will ever know that you have marijuana leaves or whatever stitched on your tops”
- inlays on armadillo UFO boots
- Austin guys
- “patron of the arts”
- really liked the illustrated box that Graham’s boots come in
- “kind of goofy, but that’s kind of my brand, I guess”
- something Texas-y, but nothing more specific, kind of like the box
- wanted to cosmic cowboy theme
- love for Big Bend National Park
- “also a big fan of magic mushrooms”
- trying to stick to a narrative on boots
- doesn’t want elements just floating around the tops
- ideal customer
- boot box and branding
- “really nice, really expensive cowboy boots”
- want to be clear with people
- people don’t understand how much time goes in
- not taught to make multiple boots in a week
- “I’m not digging at anyone”
- “mine is really slow…maybe not slow…intentional…and laborious”
- Big Bend boots close to 300 hours
- almost a week just doing artwork
- doodles aren’t ready to be made into boots
- “really hate having to self myself”
- “makes me very uncomfortable”
- avoid awkward conversations by setting expectations
- “a little cheeky sometimes”
- nothing wrong with spending $300 or $15,000
- don’t want to make anything for someone that costs more than they’re comfortable spending
- “actually made in Austin, Texas”
- “a little bit of a dig”
- there’s a company that makes boots, made t-shirts, something like “handmade boots in Austin, Texas”
- factory company
- lots of friends have the boots
- nothing against them
- “I am not a boot snob”
- nobody cutting and sewing for them in Austin
- the boots are handmade
- “almost every cowboy boot is handmade to a certain degree”
- he uses sewing machines
- hand-stitching inlay would be ridiculous
- nothing wrong with Leon stuff at the price point
- should be more expensive for what it is
- “really nice, really expensive cowboy boots”
- Jeremiah: lots of industries claiming their headquarters, produce abroad
- marketing power of Made in Texas
- “America’s America”
- “handmade”
- personally withdrawn from using it
- “really diluted phrase at this point”
- most things are, to some degree
- “in the right circles it can really mean something and have a clear definition”
- McDonald’s “hand-cooked” hamburgers
- “enunciate the fact that these are exceptional”
- “loaded phrase now”
- not a fan of marketing
- innovations
- lots of design work on computer
- biggest things
- 3D foot scans
- 3D printing lasts
- already happening
- got feet scanned at running store here, has his scan
- will trickle down to an affordable level
- measuring feet and building lasts the hardest part
- everyone does it differently
- moved to plastic lasts, start small and build
- in UK, might start with blockier, oversized wood last
- e.g. English bespoke maker
- still a bit of an art form
- people are already doing it
- laser cutters for inlay top work
- could use laser cutter for big top piece and initial cuts for inlay holes
- at prosumer level, couldn’t do follow-on relief cuts
- might be viable for simpler inlay
- doesn’t have the space
- concern: burning
- e.g. white or bone kangaroo
- but higher-quality machines don’t
- knows how to do it with buster 31-15 and sharpened needle
- great for small products
- Chase DeForest using CNC laser cutter regularly
- would like to do larger-scale leather art
- e.g. massive inlaid wall piece with a full hide
- no longer cuts inlays with a knife, but would have to if can’t fit a whole hide under a 31-15
- favorite leather to wear
- suede pigskin
- loves suede
- very durable
- mostly water resistant
- warm but not too hot
- can’t beat it up enough to damage
- first pair made himself were black pigskin
- what Lee wore
- drip oil from motorcycles
- Scotch Brite to clean it up
- fairly inexpensive
- more on the work end of the spectrum
- more imperfections than good calf suede
- love kangaroo, but don’t have any, never worn
- ordering
- finally has a website
- order boots section
- books not open then
- hoping to finish by end of year, open up in January-ish
- first fill out the contact form to add to the contact list
- not an order list, just to contact
- last time: Instagram free-for-all
- probably open up differently this next time
- store open next week with merch