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ingboots takesplace, amidoldSingersewingmachinesandstacksof
hidesof everycolorand type, andwhere thesmell of leatherandglue
permeates theairevenbefore the teamcomes in toget towork.
At7o’clocksharp, thecraftsmen—andallbutonearemen—come in
to turnsomeof thefinesthidesavailable (elk, bison,kangaroo, stingray,
andeel, just tonamea few) intosomeof thehighestqualitybootsacowboy
orcityslickerwill everset foot in.Someof theworkersare lifelongboot-
makersandhavebeenwithJ.B.Hill foras long, ornearlyas long, asHill
himself.Mosthave learned thecraftofbootmaking fromother family
members; this isa trade that’spasseddown fromgeneration togeneration.
Before theday isover, the teamwill havemadebetween just eight
and 10pairsof boots, andnearlyeveryoneon thefloorwill have
touched theboots in some capacityas theymade theirway through
theproductionprocess.Not surprisingly, J.B.Hill boots commanda
premiumprice: Boots start at $825but easilymove into the thousands,
dependingonmaterialsanddesign.
“Ouremphasis isoncustomerserviceandquality,”saysHill. “We like
tohavenice, freshdesignsbuilt in thecowboy tradition, andwestandbe-
hind thequalityofmaterialsandourworkmanship.” Indeed, someof the
bootsmaking theirrounds fromcraftsman tocraftsman in thewarehouse
Themanystepsof bootmaking:
Formost clients theprocess begins at the customer’s home,
where J.B. Hill sends ameasuring kit anda pair of fitter
boots selected for the customer. Once themeasurements
are back at thewarehouse, a lastmaker finds a last (oppo-
sitepage, bottom), ormold, and adjusts it to conform to the
fittingmeasurements; rare is the casewhen a customer’s
boot mold doesn’t need some tweaking.
Above: hand-tooling leather into beautiful ornate patterns
Below: FelipeVazquezhammerswoodenpegs into thesoles
of theboots.Unlike theirmetal counterparts, thewoodenpegs
will expandandcontract just as the leather does.
This page, right: Abdon Lujan stitches together quarter
panels for theboots.
Oppositepage, top right: AlfredoOrtiz isoneof the last crafts-
men toworkon theboots.Hebuilds theheels, grindsand
shapes thesoles, thendyes the leather andwaxes thebottom
of theboots.
J.B. Hill Boot Company
335N. ClarkDrive, El Paso, Texas
(915) 599-1551, jbhilltexas.com
ViewTaddMyers’ series “AmericanCraftsman
Project” at AmericanCraftsmanProject.com.
GIFTGUIDE
Cowboy Couture
WINTEr 2012
celebratedliving.com
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