The Stitchdown Shoecast
Episodes
A Highly Emotional Shoebag!! Wedding Footwear Rules, Best Winter Boots, and is Ticho Getting Rid of All His Shoes???
21 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ticho and Ben from Stitchdown are back with another good ol' fashioned Stitchdown Shoecast Shoebag episode, in which we answer probing listener q...
Jim McFarland on the Cobbling Industry's Precarious Position, and That Time He Stashed a Couple Grand Cash In a Shoe Sole
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
They call Jim McFarland America's Cobbler for a darned good reason—the third generation in a line of cobblers that has run McFarland's Sho...
Literally Everything You Need to Know About How Leather is Made, With Ashland Leather's Phil Kalas
17 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The leather tanning process is an ancient one—almost 10,000 years old. And yet, it can also be a massive damn mystery! So Ashland Leather's Phi...
The Footwear World's 2021 In Review—Plus Some Bold Boot Predictions for 2022
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
2021! 'Twas another extremely weird year! It really was. But man was it a wonderful one in in the world of boots and shoes. This episode, Ticho a...
Kreosote's JD Gabbard Is Here to Rewrite Engineer Boot History
31 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The boot brand Kreosote is but one man—JD Gabbard—some wonderful vintage tools, a 1978 Airstream, and one of the most unique and curious spirits i...
Østmo x Iron Boots: Lars Reveals an Immensely Exciting Upcoming Partnership
27 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Way back in some far-off distant boot past, Lars Jensen was the first-ever Shoecast guest. He came on to tell us his story, one of making truly incred...
Foolproof Ways to Get the Best Possible Customer Service When Buying Boots (And, You Know, Anything Else)
14 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are few things more wonderful than a great customer service experience—especially on an expensive purchase. Unfortunately, they're also a...
Ron Rider on the 7 Damning Shoe-Sizing Mistakes We All Really Need to Stop Making
08 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
All-time Shoecast champion guest Ron Rider—Rider Boot founder, person who may just know more about shoe sizing than literally anyone else in the wor...
Shoebag!! Unstructured vs Structured Toes? Who Makes the Best Rugged Derby? And More!
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Shoebag is back! All hail the Shoebag. This time, @tichoblancoshoes and Ben from @stitchdown answer all sorts of reader questions, including: Unst...
Tricker's Bespoke Shoemaker Adele Williamson on Everything You Didn't Realize About Bespoke (and Making a Pair for Idris Elba)
09 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Adele Williamson: Tricker's youngest bespoke shoemaker ever, and also Tricker's first female bespoke shoemaker—in the brand's 19...
Grant Stone's Wyatt Gilmore on the Brand's Origin Story, Leather Selection, The Luxurious Wide-Width Life, and More
02 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Grant Stone's Wyatt Gilmore is one of the people we most love talking to in the entire footwear industry—so it was high time we had him on the ...
The Opening Ceremonies of the 2030th Shoelympic Games
26 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Very special episode! The entire shoe world has been on the edge of its heels waiting for 2030th Shoelympics to kick off from Northampton, England, an...
Nick Horween on if Rare Shell Cordovan is Actually Rare, the CXL Lottery, and How to Tan Leather Responsibly
16 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nick Horween is a fifth-generation tanner at the eponymous Horween Leather Co., the Chicago powerhouse that creates Chromexcel, shell cordovan, and an...
Shoegazing's Jesper Ingevaldsson on The Dangerous Fallacy of "Handmade" Shoes, The Coming Dress/Rugged Crossover, Who Needs Bespoke, and Plenty More
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's completely possible that Jesper Ingevaldsson knows more about shoes than anyone alive. Jesper IS Shoegazing, the seminal and just monumental...
A Very Important Indonesian Bootmakers Update Episode
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The very first episode of the Shoecast—and the most-listened-to episode of all time—was about Indonesian Bootmakers. To close out season 3, Ticho ...
Brett Viberg on Fall/Winter 2021, Pushing Viberg's Manufacturing Forward, and Vintage Inspiration
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Brett Viberg is back once more on the Shoecast, to give us a detailed breakdown of Viberg's coming releases in the second half of 2021—there ar...
Division Road's Jason Pecarich On His Viberg Makeup Mindset, Boot Development, and How In The Hell to Save Retail
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Five years ago, Jason Pecarich took his extensive experience in the menswear industry and opened Division Road Inc. in Seattle: a collaboration-driven...
Ron Rider Reveals the Secrets Behind Private Label Shoemaking, and Plenty More
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If Ron Rider isn't the most interesting person in the shoe game, we certainly want to meet whoever is. Ron's lived his whole career in shoes...
Underrated Leathers and Tanneries You Really Need to Be Considering
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While there are a handful of "name" leathers and tanneries out there, it's almost shocking how many of both go completely under the rad...
Shoebag!! What's the Best Fitting Last? How to Break In Engineers? Boots + Suits? And More!
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
That's right, Ticho and Ben from Stitchdown.com are back to answer listener questions on another absolutely thrilling Shoebag episode. What'...
How Nicole Porter's Artisan Boot & Shoe is Breathing New Life Into US Footwear Manufacturing
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Two and a half years into its existence, Artisan Boot & Shoe—which sprung forth following the Batavia, New York P.W. Minor factory's unfort...
Outsoles: Everything You Need to Know to Make the Right Call
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With an incredible range of outsoles available to choose from, how does a footwear lover narrow things down to just one? There are huge questions to t...
Ealdwine's Matt Gray and Jim Pietryka on How To Open an Alden Shop, Selling Vibergs, and The Matt Gray Pose
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Gray came out of nowhere to become an instant Alden legend, and one of the Instagram kings of rare shell cordovan. Now Matt and partner Jim Pietr...
The Incredible Untold Boot Histories of White's, Wesco, Nicks, and Viberg
19 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Pacific Northwest is home to the last remaining epicenter of quality bootmaking in the US (and Canada)—and the stories of how the makers White&a...
Carl Murawski On Who SHOULD Wear Work Boots, and the Paradox of Buying Lots of Boots That All Last Forever
12 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Carl Murawski is a man of many facets—and many boots. Sure, he's the world's largest YouTube star (and definitely go check out his excelle...
The Most Important Shoe & Boot Happenings of 2020
05 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
2020: Interesting year! I feel like a few things happened.PLENTY also happened in the shoe world. Far more certainly than one could’ve anticipated...
Brett Viberg on Where Viberg is Headed as a Brand, the New Widths, and the Worst Boot He Ever Made
29 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's Brett Viberg time! Few people have exerted as much influence over the quality footwear industry over the past decade as Brett has while he&a...
Alden's Brett Klein on Fading Shell Cordovan, Creating Masterful Makeups, and His All-Time Favorite Boot
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Alden's Brett Klein is one of the true mensches of the footwear world. A huge part of his job is to help retailers—and humble shoe podcasters w...
How Our Shoe Journeys Got Us Where We Are Today
08 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ahhhh, the Shoe Journey. The voyage from understanding essentially nothing about great shoes and boots to...GETTING IT. It's a path that winds in...
How to Find the Best Possible Shoe & Boot Values
02 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
WHAT ARE THE BEST VALUE SHOES I CAN BUY? It's the thing everyone wants to know. And while there are some sure-thing answers when it comes to pure...
Mark (Albert) Barbera on How to Start a Boot Company, and the Future of US-Made Footwear
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Barbera of Mark Albert Boots had a dream: make some Chelsea boots. Next thing he knew, he had an entire boot company, operating out of his hometo...
Is Shell Cordovan Overrated or What??
16 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
SHELL CORDOVAN! That most magical of shoe leathers. King of shine, paragon of durability, bastion of beauty. There really is nothing quite like it. Bu...
SHOEBAG! How to Score Alden Rare Shell Cordovan, and Plenty More Shoe Questions Answered
09 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"How do I get my hands on some Alden rare shell cordovan boots or shoes?" It's one of the questions we get asked the most. So Ben from ...
Standard & Strange's Neil on Engineers, Naming Makeups, and Getting Detained in Japanese Jail
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Neil Berrett, co-founder of the excellent Oakland booterdashery Standard & Strange, is many things. A Viberg and Wesco makeup wizard. A dutiful pr...
Almost Vintage Style's Jake vs Ticho: The Stitchdown Bootbate
26 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After a rollicking first season, the Stitchdown Shoecast is BACK for number two. And to make the return even more special, this first episode presents...
Ticho's Foolproof System for Getting Insane Deals on Used Shoes
18 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
@tichoblancoshoes is many things: esteemed shoe collector, Harrison Ford appreciator, a man who knows his way around a pizza. He is also a scoundrel—...
How To Build a Fantastic Shoe Collection Without Going Broke
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Quality shoes & boots—they cost some money! But it's completely possible to construct a well-rounded collection on the (relative!) cheap......
If You Had to Choose Only Five Shoes or Boots, For The Rest of Your Life…What Would They Be??
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you were forced to choose only five pairs of boots and shoes for the rest of our life, and had to give away everything else...what would those five...
All Things Østmo With Bootmaking Virtuoso Lars Jensen
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the Shoecast is actually the Larscast, as Ben from @Stitchdown and @tichoblancoshoes spend a whole bunch of time chatting with Lars Jensen,...
The Handsewn Makers You Need to Know: Quoddy, Rancourt, Russell, Maine Mountain, and Yuketen
21 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 mad...
The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of the US Handsewn Industry
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Handsewns—boat shoes, camp mocs, ranger mocs, guide boots, penny loafers, and other shoes and boots made with handsewn moccasin construction—are s...
Shoebag!! What's the Best-Value Pricepoint? How To Build Up Patina? And More!
07 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The Best Alden Model Ever...Decided!
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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, t...
What's the Greatest Alden Shoe or Boot of All Time?
23 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Underrated Shoe & Bootmakers
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 int...
Made-To-Order Boots & Shoes
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 thei...
Indonesian Bootmakers Bonanza
29 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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, the...