Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast The Stitchdown Shoecast
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Titre
Date
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Caswell's Kevin Wilson on How to Start a One-Man Boot Brand—and Bringing Back US Manufacturing
14 Aug 2024
00:58:35
“The only way I learned was making many mistakes and losing a shit ton of money in the process” is how Kevin Wilson neatly sums up the never-simple process of getting Caswell Boot Company off the ground.
In the past five years since saying "I'm going to start a boot company!", Kevin's stared down a failed Kickstarter attempt, his original US-based factory shutting down, patterns gone missing, rising costs in every possible area, and all the general fickleness that comes standard with manufacturing high-quality footwear.
But Kevin has found a truly powerful audience while building a brand that does things a bit differently, especially in terms of custom options, a hugely impressive leather array, and manufacturing in four different countries—including, soon, the US again.
We break down Caswell's different lines and how he manages to cohere them together, the bevy of mistakes he made along the way, an entirely new brand he's been plotting for a bit, and what inspired him a half-decade ago to say “a regular person can do this.”
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Shoebag!!! Best Boots to Travel With, Shoe Books, Wood Soles, and P'Zones
06 Aug 2024
01:16:03
Ben and Ticho once again dip into the Shoebag to answer listener questions—and tap in some special experts along the way—including: how to size boots to match orthotic inserts? What are some of the best brands for Women’s GYW shoes? Our thoughts on revolutionary new sole materials? Initial footwear “hard pass” that you eventually learned to love? How to start working as a bootmaker?
And obviously, because it's highly shoe related, what are the best road trip snacks?
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Bespoke Shoemaker Sebastian Tarek on West-End Outwork and Judging the World's Greatest Shoemaking Competition
13 Mar 2024
00:56:52
When London (by way of Australia) bespoke shoemaker Sebastian Tarek began making shoes in high school, his grandmother let him in on a little secret: he had been preceded in his journey by 18 generations of family cordwainers.
After years of schooling—including at the famed Cordwainers College in Hackney, London—he eventually ended up settling into a role as a bottom-maker for some of Savile Row's most prestigious bespoke firms, both in an in-house capacity and also as an piece-work outworker.
Today, Sebastian continues his outwork...work...while also creating his own bespoke shoes and boots for clients, as well as select ready-to-wear collections for retailers in Japan and elsewhere. While the outwork keeps his skills sharp and focused, Sebastian's personal shoemaking style is a raw, anti-elegant ("I don't want the act of shoemaking to be the attempt to replicate and perfect something a machine can do") exploration of UK-based materials, all sprung from a love of old worn denim, centuries-old Japanese farmhouses, and possible overuse of the word "singularity".
To top it all off, Sebastian's about as delightfully affable and humble as people get, and there are few people more enjoyable to talk shoes and shoemaking with. So I did that!
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
The Handsewn Makers You Need to Know: Quoddy, Rancourt, Russell, Maine Mountain, and Yuketen
21 Jul 2020
01:00:49
In the last episode of the Shoecast, Ticho and Ben did a birds-eye view of the US handsewn moccasin construction footwear scene: how the shoes are made, and the rise and fall and rise again of the industry behind it, largely in Maine. It's a deeply interesting and often inspiring ride, and you can check it out right here.
This week, we go deeper on five brands crafting a truly amazing range of handsewns: Rancourt, Quoddy, Russell Moccasin, Maine Mountain Moccasin, and the most innovative and boundary-pushing of them all, Yuketen. We cover each brand's specific history, and of course, what they make. Also we say some things about Chicago-style hot dogs that will surely get us in trouble with the good people of the Windy City.
This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, where you don't NEED an engineering degree to buy their engineer boots...but it helps.
Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of the US Handsewn Industry
15 Jul 2020
00:44:10
Handsewns—boat shoes, camp mocs, ranger mocs, guide boots, penny loafers, and other shoes and boots made with handsewn moccasin construction—are some of the most comfortable, and indeed truly handmade footwear that exists.
This week on the Shoecast, and Ticho and Ben from Stitchdown get into how they're made, and how the US industry—based largely in Maine—arose and turned into a powerhouse, then entered a troubling period of decline before being reborn in a legitimately wonderful new fashion over the last couple decades.
This is the first of two handsewn episodes; this one is more focused on construction and industry history, while in the next episode we'll get deeper into the USA-made brands we love, their histories, the unique models they make, and plenty more.
This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, where you don't NEED an engineering degree to buy their engineer boots...but it helps.
Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Shoebag!! What's the Best-Value Pricepoint? How To Build Up Patina? And More!
07 Jul 2020
00:47:00
It's time for the Shoebag, in which Ticho and Ben answer ANYTHING listeners want to know about. This week we talk about how to ensure you get the best possible patina on your boots, the importance of branding for shoe companies, which price point represents the best value, and plenty more—including why Tichoblanco is even called Tichoblanco. It's a fun one.
This episode was sponsored by Grant Stone—we wholeheartedly suggest you check out their lineup right here.
Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
The Best Alden Model Ever...Decided!
01 Jul 2020
00:52:45
Last episode Ben and Ticho took 16 of Alden's best shoes and boots, debated fiercely, and narrowed them down to 8, tournament-style. This time, those 8 become 1—the greatest Alden model of all time. Listen in for the debate, even if it's just to let us know where we were right and wrong.
This episode was sponsored by Grant Stone—we wholeheartedly suggest you check out their lineup right here.
Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
What's the Greatest Alden Shoe or Boot of All Time?
23 Jun 2020
00:37:21
Alden is the last great American dress shoe maker—and their boots might just be even better. Ticho and Ben take on an impossible task: debating the best Alden model of them all. 16 enter, but only one will win. Get ready for a knock-down, drag-out battle.
This episode was sponsored by Grant Stone—we wholeheartedly suggest you check out their lineup right here.
Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Underrated Shoe & Bootmakers
17 Jun 2020
00:45:03
Certain great shoe and boot brands are discussed endlessly. And others, well, not nearly enough.
This week on the Shoecast, Ticho and Ben get deep into four brands we think deserve a ton more play out there in the conversation—ZEB Shoes, TLB Mallorca, Parkhurst, and J.M. Weston—and get into their histories, unique offerings, value, how to size, and of course, how to get them.
Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Made-To-Order Boots & Shoes
09 Jun 2020
00:47:03
Exploring the world of made-to-order—or MTO—shoes and boots. How do you figure out what to make? Where do you start? Ticho and Ben break down their approaches and philosophies on MTO, plus which makers you should consider doing MTO with, and how much they cost.
Then as always, it's on to the Shoe Bag, in which we answer listener questions ranging from how to care for roughout boots, to the most versatile overall shoe for everyday wear.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Indonesian Bootmakers Bonanza
29 May 2020
00:51:46
While it may take a true boot geek to realize it, Indonesian bootmakers create some of the best values in handwelted footwear—and at their best, they are truly beautiful sights to behold.
But how do you navigate Indonesia's dozens of bootmakers? Who to go with? How to order? What are they charging? Ben from @stitchdown and @tichoblancoshoes go deep on Indonesian boot culture and how it arose, plus the makers you should be considering. And like in every episode, your questions about shoes and boots, leather, care, and more are all answered with disturbing accuracy, in the Shoe Bag.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Actor Adam Goldberg on His Lifelong Quest to Remake James Dean's Boots
06 Mar 2024
01:12:56
Adam Goldberg has quite legitimately always been one of my favorite actors—and from Dazed & Confused, to the Fargo TV show, to A Beautiful Mind, he has always been EXCELLENTLY attired, right down to his boots.
But he doesn't just play a person who cares about boots on TV and in movies! Adam is a very real-deal obsessive who's neck deep in Clinch, Zerrow's, and quite possibly too much more.
In an episode that will surely open the floodgates to most-to-all of Hollywood coming on the Shoecast to confess their footwear compulsions, Adam and Ben discuss boots he wore in different roles—usually self-selected!—sings a lovely rendition of "Working My Way Back to Ropers", tells the twist-and-turn-filled tale of his decades-long quest to get James Dean's boots reproduced, and announces the "only"(ha!) pair of boots he wants, all while we attempt to figure out what the hell is wrong with us for loving this stuff so much.
This episode was sponsored by Nicks Boots—who turns 60 this year!
Theme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Tony & Tobias of Wyatt & Dad Cobblers on Building a Shoe Repair Mini-Empire
28 Feb 2024
01:03:26
Back in 1989, Tony Wyatt and his brother Lance launched Wyatt & Dad Cobbler Company (and even trained their retired-preacher dad to do shoe repair work, so no it's not just a clever name). Thirty five years later, the operation has seen endless swings in the cobbling industry, weathering them as well as any operation out there.
The goal was always to build a chain that could deliver essential shoe repair services to communities in North Carolina big and small, and that's exactly what happened—with expansion and contraction following the whims of customers. Today, Wyatt & Dad has two shops...plus, obviously, a cabin in the middle of nowhere, where Tobias Crislip does incredibly high-end repair, restoration, and customization work that's mailed in from all over the globe.
On the latest Shoecast episode, I chatted with Tony and Tobias about how it all started for each of them and how they've smartly identified shifting opportunities over the decades, old TV commercials and billboards...about cobblers...why every cobbler is seemingly required to have a thriving YouTube channel, where the trade is going and how to keep it alive and humming in a very real way in 2024 and beyond, and plenty more.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________ This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange
Theme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Goods & Services' Rory Fortune on Handwelting Sneakers, and the Shell Cordovan BIRKENCHONKS
20 Feb 2024
00:54:10
The sneaker and welted footwear worlds are (very slowly) colliding, and Rory Fortune is smack in the middle of the two
In 2019, Rory and his wife Lauren set up shop in LA's design district to open Goods & Services, a half cobbler shop / half sneaker customization pacesetter. Custom resoles—often accomplished via the tricky process of converting cemented footwear to a welted, continually resoleable state—were immediately a core staple, while fully custom-designed footwear of various kinds worked its way in over the years as well. Goods & Services' work is consistently creative, impressively executed, and honestly just...really kinda dope.
In this episode, Ben chatted with Rory about how he cut his cobbling teeth, how Goods & Services' vision and mission have evolved in the last half-decade, why sneaker tastes and trends are shifting around so fast these days, his collection of wonderfully old shoemaking machinery, and why a world with even a few welted sneakers is a significantly better place.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
The (Mostly) Complete History of Boots with Bata Shoe Museum Director Elizabeth Semmelhack
13 Feb 2024
01:25:09
In one of our favorite—and certainly the most sprawling—Shoecast episodes to date, Ben chats with Elizabeth Semmelhack, director and curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada. Which I believe is safe to say—thanks to more than 15,000 shoes, boots, and related artifacts covering 4,500 years of human history—is the world’s preeminent dedicated shoe archive and museum.
We follow Bata's mission of telling the history of humanity through shoes, starting with how and where shoes even emerged, then covering everything from King Tut's gold sandals, to how high heels were originally designed for THE MOST RUGGED OF MEN, to why sizing is such a mess from a historical perspective, and how the world's most momentous wars have been won and lost because of...boots.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Sagara's Bagus Satrio on the Indonesian Bootmaking Explosion
19 Jan 2024
00:46:45
Sagara head man Bagus Satrio is one of my favorite people in the whole bootmaking game. I absolutely love the work he and his team do—his Cordmasters need to be at or near the top of ANYONE’S best monkey boots ranking—and he’s just a hugely interesting and wonderful man.
Sagara’s almost 15 years deep doing exceptional work, and about a half decade into massively deserved international prominence. Which is great! But not always the easiest. So Bagus and I going to talk about that ride, what Sagara makes now and has coming up, wonderful dogs named after shoes…the whole deal. Been trying to make this one happen for over a year! Language barrier and weather—it rained hard when we taped, you might hear it a bit—be damned.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Ken Diamond on the Rare Satisfaction of Making Boots by Hand
09 Jan 2024
00:50:26
Back in the 2010s, Ken Diamond had a booming moccasin business in Vancouver—celebrities wore his shoes, which also secured a hallowed spot on the shelves of Istetan, the Tokyo department store that's home to likely the world's great shoe selection. But at the brand's peak, a bit burned out and seeking something fresh, Ken bailed on it all.
Today, 150km and two ferries from Vancouver on Canada's remote Sunshine Coast, Ken is hand-making stitchdown construction boots, one pair at a time. This episode, Ben chats with Ken about what that moccasin roller coaster ride was like, how he started making boots (with a construction that's just so incredibly different from the moccasins), the meaning and impact of "copying" designs, what perfection means in footwear and if it's even attainable, and what satisfaction truly means to him.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Curtis From Alden Madison on How to Size Into Any Last, and That One Time He Saw Harrison Ford
05 Dec 2023
01:16:07
Alden Madison is one of the essential New York City shoe stores, stocking and selling more Alden shoes and boots than likely anywhere else in the world.
This week, Ben and Ticho sit down with shop co-owner Curtis Bosch to talk about how he got sucked in by the good-shoe tractor beam in the first place, how their makeup program has taken off in wild ways over the last three years, CRUCIAL Alden sizing advice (including for customers who can't come into the shop!), how to make your friendly neighborhood shoe salesperson wildly happy, Indy Boots (surprise!!) and the man who wore them best.
https://aldenmadison.com/
Here's the sizing site Curtis mentions in the episode: https://dslaw.github.io/goodyearwelt-sizes/sizes.html
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Shoebag!! Craziest Break-In Stories, Plus Ticho & Ben's Only Five Forever Pairs: Revisited!
28 Nov 2023
01:00:03
Long, long ago, Ben & Ticho did a Shoecast episode in which they had to (just for pretend, don't worry) get rid of all their shoes and boots—FOREVER—and only keep five pairs that just made sense for their lives. A lot has changed since then! So we went back to revisit our picks, and the results are...interesting!
Also on this Shoebag episode: why taking pictures of your boots is so damn fun, what’s really happening behind the scenes in tanning, crazy break-in tales, why we both would suck at making shoes, Michael Cera x Maryam, and why a quest for total knowledge when it comes to great footwear honestly kinda takes the fun out of the whole thing.
Oh and cake, for some reason. Lots and lots of cake. Fudgie the Whale, represent. _______________________________________________________________________________________________
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Cutting it Up With Cobbling Legend Steve Doudaklian of Bedo's Leatherworks
21 Nov 2023
01:17:30
Ten years ago, Steve Doudaklian looked at a camera, said “good morning shoe repair family”, fixed up some shoes, and put a grainy video on YouTube as a service to cobblers around the world.
A decade later, Steve’s videos still don’t look all that different from his first—but now they’re often watched by millions, and stand as perhaps the measuring stick of high-end shoe repair and restoration worldwide.
In as lively as Shoecast episode as they get, Ben chatted with Steve about the three generations of shoemakers that preceded him; growing up in a legit war zone in Lebanon before emigrating to Falls Church, Virginia; how the shop his dad started—Bedo’s Leatherworks—has grown and shrank and otherwise shifted over time; and forming the Shoe Repair International group which now includes over 1500 cobblers around the globe.
We also get into Steve's favorite shoes to repair, Alden Indys (of course), how YouTube changed Steve’s business and cobbling in general, what a craftsman sees that the customer might not, and—with intentionally zero succession plan, meaning one of America’s iconic shoe repair businesses will end with him—how long he’s planning on keeping it up.
Oh and why all cobblers should wear a shirt and tie on Saturdays.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Flora Knight on Guthrie, Oklahoma's Cowboy Bootmaking Lineage and That Time She Tried to Tan Her Own Leather
30 Jul 2024
01:02:52
She was born in Canada and grew up in New Zealand, but few people could possibly seem more at home making bespoke cowboy boots in Guthrie, Oklahoma than Flora Knight. Learning the craft from two of the historic western city's best teachers imaginable—bootmaking legends Lisa Sorrell and Ray Dorwart—certainly didn't hurt things. Neither did her other obsession: old-time American fiddle-playing.
But Flora has most definitely carved out her own path to become a supremely talented bootmaker in her own right. On this episode of the Shoecast, Ben chatted with Flora about the most brutal days in the workshop being some of her best learning experiences, why you can't force artistry in bootmaking, and how to draw out a customer's personal vision, all while considering how the music and boots she creates reflect a pre-industrial society that might just have been a little bit better.
https://www.instagram.com/floraknightbootmaker/
This episode was sponsored by Nicks Boots
Theme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Sarah Guerin aka Saboteuse Knows More About Massachusetts Shoemaking History Than Anyone Alive
08 Nov 2023
01:19:17
To call Sarah Madeline Tierney Guerin an incredibly skilled cowboy boot maker would be accurate—and also highly incomplete. Sarah is also an artist, a historian, an educator, a storyteller, a preservationist, someone who just thinks about things differently than most of the rest of us, and quite possibly the person who knows the most of anyone in the world about the deep history of Massachusetts shoemaking.
Sarah's nom de boot "Saboteuse" (the female version of saboteur, in French) isn't just an extremely cool word. It's a mindset she applies to both her bootmaking work and larger focus of bringing attention to the failures of the larger worldwide systems of modern mass production.
In a rangy chat, Ben and Sarah discuss her genesis as an architect-turned-shoemaker, why she operates out of a replica of the Massachusetts shoemaking sheds known as "Ten Footers" and the fascinating history behind them and the 19th and early 20th century US shoemaking epicenter of Lynn and surrounding towns, how we can trace larger histories simply by looking at and understanding objects (in this case, believe it or not, boots), and making maybe her greatest work to date while watching Little League games.
See much more of Sarah's work: https://www.saboteuse.com/ _______________________________________________________________________________________________
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Boot Camp!!! Ben & Ticho Recap Our Inaugural Fine Leather Footwear Gathering
31 Oct 2023
00:53:04
So, Ticho forced Ben to talk about Boot Camp, the fine leather footwear gathering / world's fair of boots and shoes and leather / celebration of shoemaking / big ol' party that Stitchdown just put on a few weeks back in Industry City, Brooklyn.
The two get into plenty of aggressive reminiscing—about the community connections forged and strengthened, the amazing footwear and makers in attendance, and even a Boot Camp miracle or two—before spending the entire second half going over attendee feedback in an effort to make Boot Camp 2024 the best it can possibly be.
If you made it to Boot Camp, we dare say you may enjoy taking a trip down boot-memory lane. If you didn't—well, living vicariously can be a pretty great way to live. And this episode should certainly help you make a call on if coming to Brooklyn for Boot Camp '24 is something that makes sense for you.
This episode was sponsored by the imminent Nicks Boots
Theme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Grenson's Tim Little on UK vs Outsourced Manufacturing, Triple Welts & "Throwing Away the Pompous Bit"
24 Oct 2023
00:53:01
“Let’s just change it up a bit” is how Tim Little describes his approach to shoe design for Grenson. It might as well be Tim's ongoing mantra.
After years in advertising—including handling the Adidas footwear account—Tim decided it was time to change it up a bit and make some welted footwear. Tim Little Shoes was born, with Tim working with various Northampton factories to create different types of quirky-but-classic styles that found a small but obsessive core audience.
That work led Tim to change it up a bit again and take on the role of creative director for Grenson in 2005, before taking the whole damn thing over in 2010. Under Tim's watch, founded-in-1866 Grenson has been reignited in a way that, well, changes it up a bit from your typical historic Northampton shoemaker—combining classic English shoemaking techniques with a more fashion-forward approach that isn't afraid to break rules while knowing what the core of a great shoe always needs to be.
In our Shoecast chat, Tim gets into how the iconic Grenson triple welt arose, how and why Grenson splits is manufacturing between its Northampton factory and India-based production (and the importance of maintaining the former), why so many GYW brands feel the need to make sneakers these days, how Grenson has brought a younger customer into Goodyear welted shoes, and plenty more.
Oh also I attempt to spell veldtschoen, live on air. _______________________________________________________________________________________________
This episode was sponsored by Grant Stone — they've got you covered on just about every size and width you could ever want in dozens of styles
Theme Music: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Fifth-Generation Tanner Ed Gallun on Milwaukee's Leathermaking History, What Separates Great Leather from the Rest, and More
02 Oct 2023
00:50:29
Ed Gallun was born into tanning—and even though the American tanning industry isn't what it once was for much of the life of the tannery his great-great-great grandfather started in 1858 in Milwaukee, he simply can't get away from it. That's a very good thing.
Ed relaunched Gallun Leathers in 2022, focusing on tanning incredibly interesting, dare we say gutsy calf leather, as well as more outside-the-box offerings like wild boar, deerskin, and more. In a lively chat with Ed for the final episode of Shoecast season 9, we get a fantastic look at Milwaukee's impressive tanning history and how the landscape shifted over the decades, how the original iteration of Gallun grew from a small shop to a 700,000 sqft titan, what Ed learned studying "space age" tanning technology in Europe, the wildest leather he's working on right now, and how science, selection, and a bit of magic births fantastic leather.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Rose Anvil's FINAL Take on Alden Indys, Plus Behind The Scenes of the RA Operation
19 Sep 2023
01:12:41
We're back with Weston Kay, the one and only Rose Anvil from the new streaming video platform called "YouTube", to discuss the shame he feels for the criminal act of cutting a pair of 100+ year old WWI boots in half, how he outfitted his Rose Anvil Builds workshop with some incredible old cobbling equipment, why it's much harder than it should be for him to simply tell people he loves a pair of boots, and alllllllll the things people misunderstand about him and the Rose Anvil channel.
And, of course, if any of his feelings have changed about Alden Indy boots, which I unabashedly love. Things get pretty real!!! ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Crown Northampton's Chris Woodford on The Rise and Fall (& Hopeful Rise Again) of Northamptonshire Shoemaking
13 Sep 2023
01:15:54
Chris Woodford is a bit of a madman. And he’s pretty much thrilled about that.
The fifth-generation shoemaker founded Crown Northampton—maker of some of the world’s best-made sneakers—as a reaction to watching his father’s business unravel, along with so much else of the iconic Northampton, England shoemaking trade.
After watching factory after factory shutter while growing up, Chris knew he needed to create a different kind of business. Early wholesale success in Japan provided the buoy for Chris to design a sneaker made with only the finest possible materials available—including J&FJ Baker oak bark leather, and Horween’s renowned shell cordovan—sell made-to-order models direct, and see if it caught. (Oh it caught.)
Now, Chris is on the verge of launching E. Woodford, an extremely high-end, full-custom handwelt line powered by Chris’s own bespoke shoemaking knowledge, and his desire to create “careers, not jobs” for shoemakers in Northampton.
In a fascinating, engaging chat, Chris talks us through the Woodford family shoemaking history that stretches back to 1908, how wars have always powered the Northampton shoe trade (and what happens when they end), why he’s obsessed with using only the best materials and preserving nearly vanished techniques, and why creating an environment in which shoemakers can learn and grow and be excited about their work every single day is the key to Northampton’s future success.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Kustom Kraft's Dennis Kieback on Starting a Handmade Bootmaking Business, Funky German Leathers, and Getting in the "Flow State"
06 Sep 2023
00:36:02
When Dennis Kieback made his first pair of Kustom Kraft boots, he’d barely even seen a pair of Red Wings before. But the bookmaking bug had bitten him hard—and the Kiel, Germany craftsman was infected.
Now 25+ pairs into his bootmaking career, Dennis sits down with Ben to chat how tricky it is to get a business started (“who wants boots from someone who hasn’t made any boots before??”), how he learned the craft thanks to internet resources and esteemed tutors including Lars Jensen of Østmo Boots and Nathan Florsheim aka NF Bootmaker, his evolving last lineup, sourcing truly unique local German leathers, the “flow state” he can get into, how he turns mistakes into magic, and of course, dogs destroying uppers by randomly deciding to operate sewing machines.
Dennis was just an absolute joy to chat with, being very game to fight through a language barrier to share his incredibly positive, inspiring outlook towards his mysterious and demanding craft.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
The Shoe Service Institute of America's Justin Bennett on the Shoe Supply Game, Cobbling's Future, and More
15 Aug 2023
00:43:28
Since 1904, the Shoe Service Institute of America has operated as an essential champion for the shoe repair industry. This week, Ben sat down with SSIA board member Justin Bennett (day job: Chicago-based shoe store/repair shop supplier Justin Blair & Co) to catch up on what happened at the recent 116th annual SSIA Convention, including the organization's Grand Silver Cup awards lavished upon North America's top cobblers.
The chat with Justin also covers the growth of shoe-repair YouTube and TikTok, SSIA’s most interesting and successful marketing efforts past and present, the gap between what repair customers want and need today vs back when, the interesting ways he’s seen the market crater and bounce back since 2020, the viability of a trade school for shoe repair, and plenty more.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Shoebag!! Next Big Makers? How Should Handsewns Fit?? Is the Thunderdome Too Commercial??? And More!
09 Aug 2023
01:03:08
Ben and Ticho are back to tear open the Shoebag once more to answer probing listener questions such as: how should handsewns fit when they're NEW? What's the best approach to trying out new makers on the scene—and who should you keep eyes open for short-term? What are you doing wrong with (get this)... shoe bags?? Are we nearing a great-boots bubble? And is it Warren Buffett's fault???
Also: wildly divergent opinions on chukka boots! And Ticho teaches you how to "pop a door". This was a fun one.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Springline's Michael James Breaks Down The Mystical Art of Lastmaking
03 Aug 2023
00:39:39
Michael James is known as “Northampton’s Last Man”—and after nearly 40 years in the game, the director of Springline lastmakers most certainly lives up to the cheeky moniker.
In a rangy chat with Michael, we cover how Springline creates some of the world’s finest production and bespoke lasts (plus shoe trees), the inherent talents required to be a top lastmaker, the fundamentals inherent in any great shoe last (it’s all about the heel!), why all the Northampton lasts are right-footed, and that time he designed a last based on a drawing on a pub bathroom wall.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Tokyo Boot Scene—Japan's Incredible Footwear City
18 Jul 2024
01:29:24
Phil Kalas of the Full Grain Podcast takes over the Shoecast this week to interview Ben about his recent trip to boots-and-shoes mecca Tokyo—expect a deep-dive into city's astounding footwear scene, why and how it exists, plus a preview of five upcoming feature videos that'll be coming out before too long.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Graham Ebner is the Next Big Thing in Bespoke Cowboy Boots
25 Jul 2023
01:06:58
When Graham Ebner says he makes “really nice, really expensive” cowboy boots, it’s somehow barely a brag.
In just five short years the Austin, Texas native (“to be clear, I grew up FIRMLY in the suburbs”) has established an impressive foothold for himself in the pantheon of rising bespoke cowboy makers. After training under the legendary Lee Miller at Texas Traditions (early job: refooting boots eaten by presumably lovable dogs), Graham struck out on his own to flex his unique combination of artistry, inlay/overlay work, and technical skill.
In my chat with Graham we get deep into how he works with customers through the lens of his just-finished Big Bend Boots, the “close the shop down tools” he could never be without, the language and purpose of toe bugs/flowers, and the incredible resource for learning bootmaking that is the internet—and the extra special sauce that comes from being part of a bookmaking lineage that stretches back to the all-time-great originators of the craft.
SEE MORE OF GRAHAM'S WORK https://www.grahamebner.com/ https://www.instagram.com/grahamebnerboots/?hl=en
MENTIONED Cowboy Bootmaking Legend Lisa Sorrell on Myths, Lore, and Why Craft Has Never Been More Important https://www.stitchdown.com/stitchdown-shoecast/cowboy-bootmaking-legend-lisa-sorrell/
YOUTUBE VERSION OF THIS EPISODE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHtCJrjdh9g
COME TO STITCHDOWN BOOT CAMP—OCTOBER 6th & 7th 2023 IN NYC https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/ ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
DEEP Inside Russell Moccasin—How The 125-Year-Old Brand Builds Some of the World's Most Unique Boots
18 Jul 2023
01:15:43
Just about one year ago, Luke Kolbie and his business partner Joe Julian took over ownership of 125-year-old Russell Moccasin: the Berlin, Wisconsin bookmaker that has outfitted presidents, kings, outdoorsmen of all stripes, and some very smart/stylish Japanese people.
Certain changes were made right out of the gate—which always stirs up more than a bit of fear for devotees of a brand with such legacy. Luckily nothing at all has changed with Russell’s approach to craftsmanship, including their vaunted multi-layer moccasin construction, which Luke and Ben break down in RIDICULOUS levels of detail.
So how’s that first year been like for Luke & team? What’s changed at Russell, and what’s stayed blessedly the same? And where are the sights set in terms of pushing Russell into a more general boot-lover’s market? Trust me, we get into it all, in way more depth than may be healthy.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Cowboy Bootmaking Legend Lisa Sorrell on Myths, Lore, and Why Craft Has Never Been More Important
09 May 2023
01:23:08
Guthrie, Oklahoma-based Lisa Sorrell can trace her own bootmaking ancestry back to one of the first cowboy bootmakers ever: Gus Blucher (a man quite aptly named for a shoe). Gus presumably would've been quite proud, as for the last three decades Lisa has oh so gracefully maintained a position of remarkably high esteem in the cowboy bootmaking pantheon, thanks to her overall skill and coveted inlay/overlay work that commands a starting price of $10,000 per bespoke pair.
In what is without question one of our personal favorite episodes ever, Lisa dispels a stack of cowboy boot myths; gets deep into why the form and construction of the uniquely American art form evolved in the ways they did; discusses what makes 1940s cowboy boot lasts the unmatched pinnacle; and explains why she’s the “ambassador for raising prices” (it's almost certainly not why you’d think) and why cowboy boots are a whole lot like lingerie.
This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, which has taken all of the finest Japanese boots and brought them to Oakland, NYC, and Sante Fe, just for you
Theme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Shoebag! Horsebutt: Over- or Underrated? Crucial Overdye Explorations. And What's the Deal With Gaston's Boots??
03 May 2023
01:05:35
That's right it's time for another SHOEBAG episode, in which Ben and Ticho dig precariously deep into such pivotal topics as: what is an overdyed leather and how is it the same or different from teacore? What’s the deal with that eyelet at the top of the speed hooks? Which outsoles make for the best toe spring? Chelsea boots with suits: yay or nay? Where are we at on balmoral boots? What's the story with those floppy-topped boots Gaston wears, and why isn't anyone rocking them today? And are horsebutt boots underrated or (gasp)...overrated??
This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, which has taken all of the finest Japanese boots and brought them to Oakland, NYC, and Sante Fe, just for you
Theme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
DEEP Behind the Patina Thunderdome Scenes With All the 2022-23 Judges
19 Apr 2023
01:01:14
The six months of beautiful boot-aging mayhem known as the 2022-23 Stitchdown Patina Thunderdome is OVER! The esteemed judges have selected their winners in both the Work and Open categories (all of whom you can see right here). Fabulous prizes from our incredible sponsors are being dished out left and right. Boots are looking really, really, really good.
So how'd it all happen? How did the judges approach this monumental task? What went into their decision-making? What surprised them along the way? Get deep inside the Dome as we pull back the curtain on the whole damn thing in a roundtable discussion with every single esteemed Thunderdome judge.
This episode was sponsored by Grant Stone—just like the Thunderdome!
Theme song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Nicks' CEO Shuyler Mowe on Explosive Growth, Developing New Leathers, and Spokane's Uniquely Competitive Bootmaking Scene
11 Apr 2023
00:57:46
For the past three years, CEO Shuyler Mowe has lacing up his now decade-old Builder Pros to helm Nicks Handmade Boots, shepherding the Spokane maker from a pure focus on work boots and into a new era of lifestyle relevancy—and dramatic growth that's seen the company add more than 40 employees in that time.
This episode, Shuyler and Ben dip into Nicks' deeply interesting, twisty-turny historical path, what it’s like to exist in the uniquely competitive Spokane bootmaking landscape, the limitations of Nicks' MTO offerings and how their lead times are trending, the brand's growing content empire on YouTube and beyond, developing their proprietary 1964 leather with Seidel, if Nicks 55 and White’s 55 lasts are actually the same, how to fit a customer's MIND, and plenty more.
This episode was sponsored by Taft, whose new line of stitchdown construction boots is, believe it or not, right up our alley.
Theme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Taft's Kory Stevens on How to Accidentally Start a Hugely Successful Shoe Brand
03 Apr 2023
01:18:34
In 2014, Taft Clothing was selling camouflage and polka-dot no-show socks. One fateful Reddit moment later, Kory Stevens was somehow overseeing a shoe and boot brand that was absolutely on fire—and designing some of the most unique footwear you’ll ever see.
9 years later, we had Kory on the Shoecast to tell the honestly captivating tale of how Taft came storming in through the footwear world’s backdoor, the gap between what he personally loves vs what sells best, Taft’s new stitchdown construction service and Chelsea boots that are the by far the sturdiest product the brand has ever put out, and why Kory knows he’s not going to spend the rest of his career in footwear.
On top of it all, Kory is just one heckuva guy—this one is about as heartfelt as shoe conversations get.
This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, which has taken all of the finest Japanese boots and brought them to Oakland, NYC, and Sante Fe, just for you
Theme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Cobbler Lorena Agolli on Apprenticing Under a Bespoke Master, Her Red Wing Habit, and the Nice Way to Tell Customers Their Shoes Suck
27 Mar 2023
01:03:23
Back when Lorena Agolli was getting started in the trade, an aging cobbler grabbed her forearm, frowned, and dismissively said, "you’re not strong enough." Well that was the wrong read on every level—almost a decade later, Lorena is currently entering a new era as the proprietor of Toronto shoe repair shop Sole Survivor.
After scaling up the Sole Survivor business to multiple storefronts and largely training both locations' staff from scratch, Lorena has intentionally dialed things back to allow her and her team to focus on the types of repair jobs they're legitimately excited about. This episode, Lorena and Ben chat about how to listen to what an old machine is telling you, the conundrum of the next generation of cobbling talent, why the old ones are so darn grumpy, and the joy (ha!) of doing a single task for 8 hours straight every day.
This episode was sponsored by Taft, whose new line of stitchdown construction boots is, believe it or not, right up our alley.
Theme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Grant Stone's Wyatt Gilmore on GYW Shoe Addiction, Japanese Old Man Style, and NOT Grant Stone
24 Mar 2023
01:12:55
Wyatt Gilmore runs Baroda, Michigan-based, ever-rising footwear brand Grant Stone. So of course we had him back on the Shoecast and completely barred him from even mentioning his own company.
Instead, Wyatt gets into what makes the feeling of Goodyear welt shoes so damn addictive, just how casual our world is going to get by 2050, the lifestyles that hugely successful shoe and boot brands attach themselves to, the shoemakers both new and legendary he respects the most, and JUST HOW TOUGH THIS WHOLE DAMN SHOE BUSINESS IS. He even tries to sell Ben and Ticho on tassel loafers being cool, and it maybe almost works.
As conversational as Shoecasts get, this one's absolutely a fun little ride.
This episode was sponsored by Taft, whose new line of stitchdown construction boots is, believe it or not, right up our alley.
Theme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
White's Boots President Eric Kinney on the Bootmaker Shortage, Stitchdown vs Handwelt, How the MP Came to Be, and More
14 Mar 2023
01:01:41
When Eric Kinney took over as president of Spokane legend White's Boots in 2019, the 170-year-old maker didn't even have a website. Just four short years later, Eric—a former White's bootmaker for 26 years who made upwards of 50,000 pairs himself—and the White's team have positioned the brand as one of the preeminent and beloved high-quality lifestyle bootmakers anywhere in the world.
This episode, Ben and Ticho chat with Eric about the unceremonious reveal of the first table-setting White's MP boot Eric developed; how he views the differences between White's Goodyear welt, stitchdown, and handwelt lines; if we can expect to see fully custom offerings from White's into the future; how Japanese conglomerate ABC Mart's ownership of White's has changed things for the previously family-owned company; and how the brand is contending with an ongoing bootmaker shortage.
Perhaps the quote from the episode that sums up Eric, and the brand, best: “To be truthful, the [best] part about being in charge is being the one who can make White’s…stay White’s. What happens when I leave? I don’t know. I do know that if I’m still there, it’s not going to change.”
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Behind The Scenes of Footwear Development With White's Boots President Eric Kinney & Jason from Division Road
09 Jul 2024
00:52:39
In long-overdue returns to the Shoecast, White’s Boots President Eric Kinney and Division Road’s Jason Pecarich sat down to pull back the curtain on what it’s really like to develop new footwear products, getting into every twist and turn on past collaborative makeups as well as some forthcoming never-before-seen construction + style combos.
We also hit on White’s lead times improving, very promising new boot-shoes, and what to expect at the White’s residency at Division Road this September 20th-21st. Also: what in the heck are “lifestyle” boots anyway, and do we need a new word for them??
Give it a listen through LINK IN BIO!
Theme music: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Red Wing's Mike Larson on How the Heritage Line Was Developed, 100+ Year Old Shoemaking Machines, and More
07 Mar 2023
01:05:50
As global product design & development manager at Red Wing Shoe Co., Mike Larson has touched every single product that's ever been placed into a Red Wing Heritage shoe box over the last 13 years—a lineup that was 260 styles strong just over three years ago, before shrinking to just 12 over the course of the pandemic.
After truly banding together as a brand-within-a-brand amidst Covid, supply chain messes, AND a brutal hack that shut down Red Wing's site and internal systems, Mike's team is currently back on track and working on product the rest of us won't see until two years in the future.
In the first episode of Shoecast season 8, Ben and Ticho chat with Mike about how the Red Wing Heritage development process works (it's uh...very long and far more complicated than probably anyone realizes), the insane level of historical detail the brand imbues into all their Heritage products (they're legit matching thread tension from the 70+ years ago!) and the research behind it, the oldest working machine in the factory, Red Wing's approach to preserving institutional shoemaking knowledge, how American manufacturing survives our currently trying times, and oh so much more.
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Rose Anvil Talks About More Than Just Alden Indy Boots (We Swear)
24 Jan 2023
01:23:49
A little over three years ago, Weston Kay cut some Dr. Martens boots in half on YouTube. Today, millions of people watch videos of him hacking all sorts of other shoes in half to break down the materials they use, on Weston's Rose Anvil YouTube channel.
And it's no secret he said some very serious words about our beloved Alden Indy boots in one of them, and so we had to drag him onto the show and confront him.
So how'd the guy who was making DIY wedding rings and rebuilding motorcycles just months before the Doc Martens vid become just about the most heavily watched men'sfootwear reviewer on YouTube? What does he feel the job of a reviewer on the internet should be in 2023? And most importantly (obviously), has he reconsidered anything about that Indy boot video?
Buckle up for the final episode of Shoecast season 7...
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
The Shoe & Boot World's 2022 In Review—and Some Predictions for What's Coming in 2023
17 Jan 2023
01:02:30
We’re not sure there’s ever been a “normal” year in the quality footwear world, but 2022 certainly wasn’t about to start being one.
Smart brands reasoned out strategies that allowed them to shift from labor and supply chain scrambles to sustainable long-term solutions. The sudden rise of the Chinese brand dovetailed with the worldwide emergence of the intentionally micro (and damn talented) bookmaker. A storied brand changed ownership hands—hopefully in a manner that lets its craft and traditions persist for decades to come. And everyone caught a serious case of loafer fever, a very positive outcome indeed.
Ben and Ticho look back at a darned interesting 2022—and lob out impossibly bold predictions (LOAFER DOME?!?!) for the year ahead in 2023.
This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, who we predict will carry the most impressive range of Japanese footwear in the entire US
Theme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
It's Ticho vs. Almost Vintage Jake in The Stitchdown Bootbate 2: Electric Boot-Galoo
10 Jan 2023
00:52:45
It's been over two years since our own Ticho took on Mr. Style, aka @almostvintagestyle, aka " Jake," in the inaugural Stitchdown Bootbate, an extremely formal and rigid debate...about boots.
Since then, both competitors have been cooped up in their lairs, conditioning their boots, shining their heels, wearing clothing from a place known as Japan, and mostly, preparing for the second round. Well here it is, people. Here it is!
The Stitchdown Bootbate 2: Electric Boot-Galoo is yet another epic clash between these two boot titans, covering the big, important topics in only the way they can. What is first on their list of lasts? Dainite: dapper or deadly?? Country of origin: how much does it matter in 2023?!? And oh so much more.
Yet another battle of boot logic and knowledge for the ages awaits you!
This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, and about this there is no debate: the Oakland, NYC, and Sante Fe retailer is home to some of the great boots in the world.
Theme song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Shoebag!! Where's the Line on Copying Designs? Are Wedge Soles the Devil or God Himself? And More!
20 Dec 2022
01:00:56
What's clickin'?? That's right Ben and Ticho are back with another SHOOOEBAG episode, in which we answer all of your listener questions, including:
What are the best options for non-PNW footwear with arch support? Why do certain deranged people not recognize the extreme artistic beauty of the wedge sole? What are some of the best ways to enjoy the pairs you have, instead of just worrying about the next one? IS CHONK DEAD?!? And the big dog: where exactly does the line sit on brands copying other brands' patterns and silhouettes?
Come with us if you want to Shoebag!
This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, which has more Japanese boots than possibly even Japan
Theme song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Nick Horween and Phil Kalas Forcibly Take Over the Shoecast, And Turn the Whole Thing Right Around on Us
12 Dec 2022
01:19:20
We've had both Nick Horween (the one from Horween Leather) and Phil Kalas (formerly of Horween, now making some of the best wallets, belts, and more over at Ashland Leather) on the Shoecast before. WELL APPARENTLY THAT WASN'T ENOUGH FOR THEM.
Clearly over-emboldened by recently starting their own show, the Full Grain Podcast, Phil and Nick swung into a recent Shoecast recording session, said "we're the hosts now," and proceeded to interview Ben and Ticho.
Which actually led to some very fun conversations about how we got started with this whole caring way too much about shoes and boots thing, community building, Patina Thunderdomes, Chicago hot dogs (obviously), and plenty more.
Luckily Phil and Nick are very caring and wonderful captors, so, thank you fellas for doing it right.
This episode was sponsored by Division Road—sign up for their bulletin to get all the latest White’s, Tricker’s, Crockett & Jones, Wesco, and Alden releases
Theme song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
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2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Unsung House's Grant Gustafson is Doing Some of the Coolest Repair, Customization, and Bootmaking in the Game
06 Dec 2022
01:11:05
Unsung House is a wonderfully rare shoe repair shop. After a half decade learning the trade in a more “standard” cobbler setting, brothers Grant and Isaac Gustafson opened Unsung in a literal old house in Nashville, to focus on impeccable higher-end shoe—and especially boot—repair, restoration, and ground-up creation.
Ben and Ticho sat down with Grant to dig into the beautiful details of Unsung’s work, from how they work a re-last job, to the dark arts of pattern grading, to their 9000-year-old sander that’s the size of a 727, and almost certainly louder.
We also go deep on Unsung’s nascent house-made boot line, specifically with Ticho’s wonderful engineer boots that feature an overdye created from walnuts Grant harvested on his own property—only because he hasn’t found enough wasp cocoons to do it that way.
What’s the purpose of a craftsperson in an Amazon world? We spent plenty of time trying to figure that the hell out—and Grant has as good an outlook as we’ve ever heard.
This episode was sponsored by Division Road—sign up for their bulletin to get all the latest White's, Tricker's, Crockett & Jones, Wesco, and Alden releases
Theme song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera
Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership