Biography
I was born and raised in Northern Nevada, and it was there where my love for boots was born. I spent most of my formative years in them, and I wore out more soles than I could’ve counted. Collecting boots became a hobby of mine.
Several years later, while living in Reno, NV, I learned how to tool leather. I worked almost endlessly trying to perfect my work, and began selling tooled leather goods inside of a vintage store in the heart of Midtown Reno. Although I did enjoy tooling small leather items, I wanted to do something more demanding. I waffled between learning how to make saddles or learning how to make boots. I did some research and made my plan to find somebody locally to learn from. The first place I stepped foot into was a shoe repair shop. I spoke with the owner and he agreed to let me hang out, one day a week so I could watch how shoe repair was done. I believed that by deconstructing and fixing boots, I would be able to make a pattern and create my own. Although that was not the case, that’s when my boot making career began.
A few months after starting to try and create my own patterns, without any success, my wife bought me a DVD set on how to make boots from Lisa Sorrell. I dove right in and the next thing I knew, I was off and running. I spent a year and a half following along with the DVDs to make boots for friends and family. While on a trip to the Pendleton Roundup, I met Richard Stapleman. He has a custom boot shop on the main drag in Pendleton, and for the last few days of our trip, I was waking up early to go to his shop and just talk about boots. He was more than happy to answer my questions and let me hang out. When the time came to hit the road and head back home, I asked Richard if he taught any classes. He said that he didn’t, but if I wanted to come up for a week, he would make a pair of boots with me. I took him up on the offer. Since that first week in his shop, he has remained a close friend and mentor of mine. I still go to his shop for a week once a year to further my education.
I retired from the shoe repair industry in June of 2019 when I opened my own custom boot business. I held my grand opening at the 100th anniversary of the Reno Rodeo and I hit the ground running. In June of 2020 I relocated to the Pioneer Emporium in Virginia City to work alongside my friend Pascal Baboulin, who makes custom felt hats. This is where my shop resides now, and Pascal and I both are very proud that we make traditional goods in one of the oldest towns in the west. We have brought back craftsmanship and quality that used to exist in Virginia City during its heyday. We still do things the old way. Built for you and built to last.
“The only guy I’ll order boots from.”
— Jess Lockwood, 2 time PBR Champion Bull Rider