Schwarz & Schwarz in Dillon, Montana 

There’s gold in them thar boots 

by Gene Fowler 

When you get a pair made at Schwarz Custom Boots in Dillon, Montana, you not only get a great pair of boots, you Read more

by Gene Fowler 

“And so that’s when I became the annoying English lady,” says Austin, Texas shoemaker Zoé Rios with a chuckle. A native of Windsor, the town on the Thames where the British royal family’s castle was built in the 11th century, the Read more

by Gene Fowler

Mark Candela makes custom cowboy boots in a turn-of-the-century farmhouse near Columbus, Texas. 

Ever since I was a little bitty kid,” says Texas bootmaker Mark Candela, “I’ve loved anything western.” Having recently notched his 59th year Read more

by Gene Fowler

Southern California bootmaker Pascal Davayat grew up in the rural Auvergne region of France, fascinated with cowboy boots and all things Wild West. “I lived on a solid diet of western movies and TV shows,” he Read more

JK Boots builds on-the-job footwear for wildland firefighters, linemen, loggers, welders, mechanics, foresters, ironworkers — and more! 

By Lynn Ascrizzi 

Picture yourself lugging a 60-pound pack in the heat of summer, while hiking for miles across forested, mountainous terrain to reach your job site — literally, hundreds of acres of raging inferno.  

There, in remote fire-prone regions like northeastern Nevada, central Utah and eastern Read more