Ask the Bootmaker Graham Ebner

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
• 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