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Watch this even if you don’t speak Spanish. You’ll hear the word “custom made” part way through. This is a beautiful portrait …full of wrinkles and frays. You are welcome to leave bits and parts of a translation in the comments below. I will be grateful and think you are cool. I heard in an email that Sr. Cavazos has retired, and sold his shop to a friend and longtime apprentice. Cavazos Boots (Nabor’s Boots)
I just added Rick Roman (Eugene, OR) to my bootmaker list… and I wanted you to see this video I found on his website,В romangoshoes.com. Blucher Custom Boots “How To Be A Cowboy: Western Boots” filmed at Boot Star in Los Angeles, CA. Don’t miss seeing their exclusive Old Gringo Designs. They’re what you call “rockstar casual.” I spent some time with Don Walker (Spring City, UT) at this year’s Bootmaker Round-Up. This video clip feels bit like takin’ home a souvenir.
Have you seen the updated Justin Boots website with all its multimedia bells and whistles? The video you see above is borrowed from their bootmaking page. It’s great, because it’s narrated…you are told exactly what those fancy machines are up to. “Freeze form molding,” now you can say you’ve seen it in action. Wow. You’ll find a couple more videos on the heritage page. Just click on the corners of their virtual scrapbook to turn the pages. Zoom your mouse around to get a closer look at the photos. (Cameo by Mr. Warren Buffet.)
The footage of the Lucchese factory is amazing for a couple of reasons. Compared to a small custom boot shop there are soooo many, many machines… like the specialized machine that smooths the side seams and then the one that power turns the tops. But really, what I found equally amazing was that each machine still came with a set of hands. For me… there was something charming in how each boot is passed from hand to hand to hand to hand to hand again…each with a task to do. And yet, there are still tasks that they can’t find a machine to do like pegging a sole. So they hire a man to do it, over and over again…all day long. And his speed and rhythm and precision resemble, well… a machine. This video includes a great clip of a welt machine in action (photo.) I saw a welt machine for the first time, when I visited Champion Attitude Boots in El Paso. Joey Sanchez explained that the machine was one of the reasons boot companies have historically stayed in such close proximity. Few shops could afford a welt machine, those that could had a hard time keeping one running. When I was visiting with Joey, there was a steady stream of boots coming in the back door…dropped off and picked up by other shops. Every photo I took was a mess because the worker’s hand were always just a blur. Click over and watch a short film called “Boot Camp” made by Kristin Windbigler. “A portrait of storyteller, philosopher and bootmaker I met Jack Rowin, back in 1999. He makes a hardworking cowboy boot, occasionally decorated with a brand or initial. Ms. Windbigler’s film was like stepping back for another visit. Here are some my old photos…
Contact Jack to place your order for custom cowboy boots, or to learn the craft of bootmaking. Jack Rowin, Bootmaker 21595 S. Powerhouse Road Manton, California 96059 (Video link courtesy of Deep West Videos.)
In this short clip…you’ll catch a glimpse of bootmakers Dave Wheeler, Lee Miller, and the hard working folks at Rocketbuster. The film also includes interviews with talented boot collectors Lyle Lovett and John Tongate.
The 20th Annual Dallas Video Festival begins Tuesday July 31st and runs through August 5th. Laura Neitzel’s film “Bodacious Boots” opens the festival on July 31st at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas at 7:35pm. More information about purchasing tickets, theaters, and films being shown during the festival is available at www.videofest.org. |
   
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