I honor the creative solutions to functional needs in the Western bootmaking tradition.

 

Stitched patterns on the boot shafts developed in response to a need to hold the lining leather to the tops before adequate long-lasting cements did the job. Continuing a long tradition of gendered work in footwear production where women closed the uppers before men built the shoes, historically women often were the top-stitchers for male bootmakers.

As these techniques offered bootmakers more and more opportunity for decorative expression, beautiful patterns and leather working techniques formed an anthology of visual ornamentation:

 

Inlay is a technique where holes cut into the top leather are backed by leathers of different colors and textures, then stitched all together to decorative effect.

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Overlay is a technique where one layer of leather is stitched over a background leather.

 

Hand embroidery holds a niche place in the history of bootmaking. A slow and mindful embellishment, I deliberately incorporate hand-embroidery in my bootmaking to honor the undervalued contribution of women to decorative arts over time, to continue a new language of boot patterns for the next generation to follow.

 

Dyeing crust leather presents a unique opportunity to enrich my decorative patterns. Crust leather has been tanned to a point just before color and finishing waxes seal the surface. I use products from Orion Calf to enhance my inlay.