The Stitchdown Shoecast
Episodes
Goods & Services' Rory Fortune on Red Wing Collabs and When to Pull Back on Customization
25 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Shoecast we’re bringing back Rory Fortune, founder of Los Angeles-based Goods & Services, which continues to be one of the most...
Bespoke Cowboy Bootmaker Zephan Parker's Formula to Keep Craft Alive
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How do we keep craft alive in an over-technological society? Is it via the individual maker? Or more of a collective workshop approach? Houston-based...
The Artistically Twisting Journey of Brooklyn's Bespoke Shoemaker, Anne Marika Verploegh Chassé
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
My chat this week is with Brooklyn -based bespoke shoemaker, educator, and artist Anne Marika Verploegh Chassé, aka STIEFELwerk. Two decades ago, Ma...
Vintage Boot Wishlists and Reconsidering Tassel Loafers: It's Ticho on the Shoebag!
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It's Shoebag time for Shoecast season 17. Which means it's time for a serious dose of Ticho, who joins me to unpack all the biggest listener...
Why Making Things By Hand Has Never Been More Important, w/ Cowboy Bootmaker Emily Boksenbaum
25 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When I met Emily Boksenbaum at our Maker’s Day 2025 conference in Chicago, I knew I had to get her on the Shoecast.Emily’s always made stuff. Firs...
Why It’s Harder Than Ever to Start a Shoe Brand, w/ the Shoe Snob Justin FitzPatrick
18 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Justin FitzPatrick aka the Shoe Snob on fiery times in the comments section, what a dress shoe customer even looks like in 2026, button boots (obvious...
Skip Horween & Nicks Boots' Shuyler Mowe—Live from Boot Camp Chicago 2025
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In November 2025, we did a thing. Stitchdown’s Boot Camp 2025 Chicago was a quality footwear mega-expo, a materials trade show, a crossroads of the ...
Franklin & Poe's Andrew Li on Where Retail's Going, Malls, and The Perfect White Tee
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
My chat this week is with Andrew Li of Philadelphia’s Franklin & Poe, one of the best shops in the US for serious quality footwear, denim, and m...
Thursday Boot Co.'s Nolan Walsh on Their Own León Factory, Last Obsessiveness, and The Comfort Question
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The joke has always been that Thursday Boot Company’s Connor Wilson keeps his co-founder Nolan Walsh trapped in a factory working on the product. Tu...
Shoebag w/ Ticho: The Best Shoemaking Teachers, Arch Support, and a LOT of Butter
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you came to this podcast about shoes and boots and leather hoping that you’d get to listen to extended conversations about imported cultured butt...
Red Wing Heritage President George Curleigh on Retail, Time Capsules, and The Red Wing Way
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
George Curleigh has been president of Red Wing’s heritage division since 2019, in which time he’s been able to enjoy a list of very fun things inc...
How to Revive The Cobbling Industry? Teach it in High School—and it's Already Working.
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This past fall, Matt Paisley launched a shoe repair program at Colorado's Thunder Ridge high school, with nearly two dozen students taking the pl...
SERES Founder Vanessa Arroyo on León, Mexico's Remarkable Shoemaking Culture
24 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
My chat this week is with Vanessa Arroyo, founder and designer of SERES Footwear, a focused line designed from the ground up with high-quality natural...
Sprezza's Clayton Chambers on Timeless Loafers, Gorpy Boots, and Quality
17 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Shoecast our chat is with Clayton Chambers, founder of the Substack newsletter Sprezza and general menswear individual about the worl...
Ticho is BACK to Talk Østmo x Iron Boots' Lore—and Next Step
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The one and only Tichoblanco, aka Tichoblancoshoes, aka just plain old Ticho, is BACK. Where’s he been?Well he’ll tell ya all about that. What’...
Boot Camp 2025 Chicago: Exhibitors + Events Rundown
30 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of a tag-team with the Full Grain Podcast, the ever-handsome/charming Phil Kalas grills Ben on what to expect at Stitchdown's Boot Ca...
BONUS PREVIEW: Brett Viberg Community Q&A at the Viberg NYC Shop
19 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last week we had our Stitchdown community's first gathering at the new Viberg NYC store—an honestly fabulous-looking little shop in Manhattan’...
(FREE) BONUS: A Look Inside China with Motiv & Arch Support Project's Samuel Wei
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
FREE Shoecast Bonus Episode—we've got plenty more for Stitchdown Premium subsribersJason Pecarich of Division Road and Motiv/Arch Support Proje...
How Japan's Astounding Bootmaking Culture Grew—And Where It's Going
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s not a stretch to say there is no quality footwear culture quite like Japan’s. But WHY does the Japanese passion for making and wearing great ...
How to Do YouTube Product Reviews Without Losing Your Soul, with The Iron Snail
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Iron Snail, aka Michael Kristy, is one of my favorite YouTube inhabitants, thanks to his legitimately unique approach to reviewing, historicizing,...
Developing Leather for Red Wing and More with SB Foot's Lacy Schumann
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Since 1986, SB Foot Tanning Company is most known as the tannery owned by Red Wing, and with good reason: every bit of leather used on Red Wing Herita...
Women's Shoe Icon Stuart Weitzman on Nudists, Aretha Franklin & The First Shoe He Ever Sold
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
No conversation about the all-time great women's shoe designers is complete without a very long segue into Stuart Weitzman. Born into a shoemakin...
How to Become a Bootmaker, With Oldspeed MFG's Dave Corey and New River Boot's Dave Mills
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I had an absolute gas with Dave Mills of New River Boot, and Dave Corey of Oldspeed Manufacturing on this one. After years of being two of my favorite...
Custom Cowboy Bootmaker Jake Houston on Preserving Knowledge, León Mexico, and Zebra Races
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
About a half hour from Reno, there’s a place called Virginia City Nevada, where everything feels like it’s 1859 and the US’s largest silver depo...
Seiji McCarthy is Making Some of the World's Greatest American Bespoke Shoes—In Japan
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tokyo-based, half-American/half-Japanese Seiji McCarthy discusses his uniquely late path into shoemaking, the development of his vintage-Americana-ins...
Is Turriff Functional Footwear Making the Best-Quality Barefoot Shoe on the Market?
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week we've got a chat with Andrew Turriff, a Canadian shoemaker who studied at Cordwainer’s Footwear Design program in London, worked for ...
How Tariffs Are Already Impacting the Footwear Industry, with FDRA CEO Matt Priest
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Priest, President and CEO of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, came on the Shoecast the morning after 104% tariffs on Chinese g...
All the Shoes & Boots Derek Guy Loves—and a Few He Really Doesn't—From Bespoke to Workboots
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Derek’s an OG forum junkie turned menswear writer for Put This On, mass publications like The New York Times, and his own always-excellent blog Die ...
What Opie Way's Justin James Lost in Hurricane Helene—and What He Found
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 2019, Justin James started Opie Way, a recraftable sneaker brand made right in Asheville North Carolina, USA, using incredibly high quality materia...
Skateboard Legend Jamie Thomas Goes Inside a 300° Oven To Explain How Skate Shoes are Made
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jamie Thomas is one of the most revered skateboarders of all time—and also a footwear designer and serial skate shoe brand founder. The release of h...
How to Make Your Leather Footwear Last Literally (Possibly) Forever, With Pure Polish's Andy Vaughn
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The idea that well-made, resoable footwear can last almost literally forever is one of its core allures—but it’s a promise that simply won’t com...
Shoecast BONUS Episode Preview: Shop Talk With Brett Viberg & Shuyler Mowe of Nicks Boots
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's our first-ever BONUS Shoecast episode—in a brand new format called Shop Talk. The idea is simple: -1 moderator (Ben from Stitchdown)-2 g...
Holly Henry on the Cowboy Bootmaking Community's Sustaining Power (Also: Saddles)
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I will tell anyone who dares listen that handmade bootmaking—and perhaps specifically, cowboy bootmaking—is the highest form of leatherwork as fun...
Aki Choklat on Building a Shoemaking College Program From Scratch
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the US, there are schools for everything—of course you can study business, or to become a doctor. But also if you want to be an electrician, or a...
Vintage King Brian Davis of Wooden Sleepers on Why Everything We Buy Sucks These Days
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Often, vintage clothing and footwear's defining quality IS quality. As in, its actual construction and materials, how well it was made, way back ...
Brett Viberg is Back on the Shoecast, and He's Bringing Loafers
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
15 years ago Viberg was pretty firmly Canada’s most hardcore logging and industrial boot company. Since Brett Viberg took over the reins of the near...
Brian The Bootmaker May Actually Be Mister Rogers
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
To be honest I didn’t think I’d ever get Brian the Bootmaker on this show—he doesn’t do many interviews at all, and for whatever reason I was,...
Molly Monahan, The Motorcycle Mechanic Turned Garlic Farmer Turned Small-Town Cobbler
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When you grow up in a shoe repair shop directly next door to your actual house, it's hard to not catch the cobbling bug. But oh did Molly Monahan...
Jess Wootten on Making Boots in an Australian Gold Rush Town, and Blake Rapid Misconceptions
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode's chat is with Jess Wootten of…Wootten! The Ballarat, Australia boots and shoes and leathergoods maker that is doing some very int...
Caswell's Kevin Wilson on How to Start a One-Man Boot Brand—and Bringing Back US Manufacturing
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“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-simpl...
Shoebag!!! Best Boots to Travel With, Shoe Books, Wood Soles, and P'Zones
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 bo...
Flora Knight on Guthrie, Oklahoma's Cowboy Bootmaking Lineage and That Time She Tried to Tan Her Own Leather
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
Tokyo Boot Scene—Japan's Incredible Footwear City
18 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Behind The Scenes of Footwear Development With White's Boots President Eric Kinney & Jason from Division Road
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Custom Shoemaker Amara Hark-Weber on Why She Makes a Different Pair Every Single Time
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Amara Hark-Weber surely must be one of the most delightful people in this world—which anyone could likely tell just from looking at the remarkably u...
Chisos Founder Will Roman on How Cowboy Boots Will Save Us All
03 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For the closeout episode of Shoecast season 11, Ben sits down with Will Roman, founder of Chisos Boots, a young and growing brand out of Austin, Texas...
Exploring What "Handmade" Truly Means With Leatherworker and Bootmaker Bob Henderson
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For the penultimate episode of the 11th season of the Stitchdown Shoecast, I’m quite excited indeed to be chatting with the just ridiculously talent...
Fritz Sr. and Jr. of Seidel Tanning on the Art, Science, and Challenges of Making Leather
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This time Ben sits down with two, count ‘em TWO Fritz Seidels: Fritz Jr. and Fritz Sr., who every day are continuing on the tradition of the four-ge...
Shoe Care Essentials, How Many Boots is Too Many, Brands We Want Back...It's The Shoebag!!
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Before he bolts for a very important trip to the bread store, Ticho is back in the leather-smelly homestead for perhaps our most comprehensive Shoebag...
Bespoke Shoemaker Sebastian Tarek on West-End Outwork and Judging the World's Greatest Shoemaking Competition
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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: ...
Actor Adam Goldberg on His Lifelong Quest to Remake James Dean's Boots
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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,...
Tony & Tobias of Wyatt & Dad Cobblers on Building a Shoe Repair Mini-Empire
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Goods & Services' Rory Fortune on Handwelting Sneakers, and the Shell Cordovan BIRKENCHONKS
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The sneaker and welted footwear worlds are (very slowly) colliding, and Rory Fortune is smack in the middle of the twoIn 2019, Rory and his wife Laure...
The (Mostly) Complete History of Boots with Bata Shoe Museum Director Elizabeth Semmelhack
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In one of our favorite—and certainly the most sprawling—Shoecast episodes to date, Ben chats with Elizabeth Semmelhack, director and curator of th...
Sagara's Bagus Satrio on the Indonesian Bootmaking Explosion
19 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 Cordmaster...
Ken Diamond on the Rare Satisfaction of Making Boots by Hand
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 sh...
Curtis From Alden Madison on How to Size Into Any Last, and That One Time He Saw Harrison Ford
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 worl...
Shoebag!! Craziest Break-In Stories, Plus Ticho & Ben's Only Five Forever Pairs: Revisited!
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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—...
Cutting it Up With Cobbling Legend Steve Doudaklian of Bedo's Leatherworks
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Sarah Guerin aka Saboteuse Knows More About Massachusetts Shoemaking History Than Anyone Alive
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To call Sarah Madeline Tierney Guerin an incredibly skilled cowboy boot maker would be accurate—and also highly incomplete. Sarah is also an artist,...
Boot Camp!!! Ben & Ticho Recap Our Inaugural Fine Leather Footwear Gathering
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Grenson's Tim Little on UK vs Outsourced Manufacturing, Triple Welts & "Throwing Away the Pompous Bit"
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“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 mant...
Fifth-Generation Tanner Ed Gallun on Milwaukee's Leathermaking History, What Separates Great Leather from the Rest, and More
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 gr...
Rose Anvil's FINAL Take on Alden Indys, Plus Behind The Scenes of the RA Operation
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Crown Northampton's Chris Woodford on The Rise and Fall (& Hopeful Rise Again) of Northamptonshire Shoemaking
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 so...
Kustom Kraft's Dennis Kieback on Starting a Handmade Bootmaking Business, Funky German Leathers, and Getting in the "Flow State"
06 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 h...
The Shoe Service Institute of America's Justin Bennett on the Shoe Supply Game, Cobbling's Future, and More
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 SSI...
Shoebag!! Next Big Makers? How Should Handsewns Fit?? Is the Thunderdome Too Commercial??? And More!
09 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Springline's Michael James Breaks Down The Mystical Art of Lastmaking
03 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Michael James is known as “Northampton’s Last Man”—and after nearly 40 years in the game, the director of Springline lastmakers most certainly...
Graham Ebner is the Next Big Thing in Bespoke Cowboy Boots
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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, T...
DEEP Inside Russell Moccasin—How The 125-Year-Old Brand Builds Some of the World's Most Unique Boots
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 b...
Cowboy Bootmaking Legend Lisa Sorrell on Myths, Lore, and Why Craft Has Never Been More Important
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 a...
Shoebag! Horsebutt: Over- or Underrated? Crucial Overdye Explorations. And What's the Deal With Gaston's Boots??
03 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ove...
DEEP Behind the Patina Thunderdome Scenes With All the 2022-23 Judges
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The six months of beautiful boot-aging mayhem known as the 2022-23 Stitchdown Patina Thunderdome is OVER! The esteemed judges have selected their wi...
Nicks' CEO Shuyler Mowe on Explosive Growth, Developing New Leathers, and Spokane's Uniquely Competitive Bootmaking Scene
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 f...
Taft's Kory Stevens on How to Accidentally Start a Hugely Successful Shoe Brand
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
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
Contributed by Lukas
Back when Lorena Agolli was getting started in the trade, an aging cobbler grabbed her forearm, frowned, and dismissively said, "you’re not str...
Grant Stone's Wyatt Gilmore on GYW Shoe Addiction, Japanese Old Man Style, and NOT Grant Stone
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
White's Boots President Eric Kinney on the Bootmaker Shortage, Stitchdown vs Handwelt, How the MP Came to Be, and More
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 fou...
Red Wing's Mike Larson on How the Heritage Line Was Developed, 100+ Year Old Shoemaking Machines, and More
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As global product design & development manager at Red Wing Shoe Co., Mike Larson has touched every single product that's ever been placed i...
Rose Anvil Talks About More Than Just Alden Indy Boots (We Swear)
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 sor...
The Shoe & Boot World's 2022 In Review—and Some Predictions for What's Coming in 2023
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 b...
It's Ticho vs. Almost Vintage Jake in The Stitchdown Bootbate 2: Electric Boot-Galoo
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's been over two years since our own Ticho took on Mr. Style, aka @almostvintagestyle, aka " Jake," in the inaugural Stitchdown Boo...
Shoebag!! Where's the Line on Copying Designs? Are Wedge Soles the Devil or God Himself? And More!
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What's clickin'?? That's right Ben and Ticho are back with another SHOOOEBAG episode, in which we answer all of your listener questions...
Nick Horween and Phil Kalas Forcibly Take Over the Shoecast, And Turn the Whole Thing Right Around on Us
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 m...
Unsung House's Grant Gustafson is Doing Some of the Coolest Repair, Customization, and Bootmaking in the Game
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Unsung House is a wonderfully rare shoe repair shop. After a half decade learning the trade in a more “standard” cobbler setting, brothers Grant a...
How Jack Millington Started England's First New Tannery in a Century on His Parent's Goat Farm
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For anyone who’s ever thought of quitting their job to make leather and boots, here’s the secret: just first make sure your parents own a goat far...
Easy Moc's Greg Cordeiro on Re-Growing the Maine Handsewn Moccasin Tradition—and Big Shoe Biz vs Niche
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Greg Cordeiro is our kind of shoe nerd. And the dude has been around.After getting his start as an intern at Puma before shifting over to design work ...
Talking Craft, Inspiration, and Crickets With Brooklyn's Own Bespoke Shoemaker Francis Waplinger
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After being trained in the shoemaking arts by some of the all-time greats—including Italian master Roberto Ugolini and US shoemaking gravitational c...
Dress Shoes Deep Dive! What Makes a Fantastic Dress Shoe? Plus Recs at All Price Points.
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Occasionally we discuss boots on this podcast, but that doesn't mean we don't love and appreciate a great dress shoe as well. In the FINAL...
How to Win the Stitchdown Patina Thunderdome
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
SHOOOOOOOOERADIO! That's right, everyone's favorite drive-time terrestrial radio show about boots and shoes is BACK to tell you exactly how ...
Black Boots: Boring or Essential? Ben & Ticho’s Biggest Boot Regrets. Plus: How YOU Can Help Cobblers.
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You know, when you have a history of publicly claiming to not be a black-boot lover and then you have a podcast co-host who can even more publicly pro...
Yuketen Visionary Yuki Matsuda on Vintage Inspiration, Shoe Saunas, Beaver Fur, and More
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Yuki Matsuda is an absolute gem of a man. If there's someone more relentlessly excited to design and make and just talk shoes after more than thr...
What's Brewing at the New Division Road Virginia? We Went Down There to Find Out.
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Just about one year ago, footwear/menswear super-retailer Division Road packed up the Seattle storefront that has served as its home for the better pa...
Cobbler and Bootmaker Tess Gobeil on How Doing Things Differently Has Propelled Her Repair Business (and Also Tim Horton's)
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Former Dayton bootmaker Tess Gobeil is the co-founder of Awl Together Leather, a custom leatherwork and shoe repair shop in Vancouver, Canada that jus...
Summer Shoes! Surely Incomplete But Still Damn Useful Recommendations on Loafers, Handsewns, Boot-Shoes, and More
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Summer shoes! Those are just...boots, right? Apparently not!In a Shoecast episode for which we applied 120 SPF sunscreen (to our shoes), Ticho and Ben...
Nerding Out With Young Stud Bootmaker Nathan Florsheim
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rising bootmaker Nathan Florsheim's shoe-famous last name isn't a coincidence—the great great grandson of Florsheim Shoes founder Milton F...
FEIT's Tull Price on the Promise and Limits of Sustainable Footwear
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Over a decade ago, Tull Price's job was to travel to the world's coolest cities to expand his massively successful sneaker brand, Royal Elas...
Freenote's Andrew Brodrick on Pairing Boots with The Right Denim, and How to Manufacture in the US
09 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Along with his brother Matt (the one with the mustache), Andrew Brodrick is half of Freenote Cloth, the near-decade-old denim-'n'-more brand...
Wesco's Chris Warren on How Engineers Should Fit—and the Issues the Bootmaking World is Facing in 2022
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The bootmaking world is a strange one in 2022. The easy part for top makers: finding customers who can't wait to buy their boots. The hard part? ...