Boots made for walkin’ — with her bare hands
The image most conjure up when thinking of someone making a pair of boots is an older cobbler with well worn hands deftly wielding an awl and last. You’ll need a paradigm shift. A pair of cowboy boots took the best in show ribbon at the Better Living Show, at Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede, and the cobbler is Susan Pahl-Gutfriend, from Rolling Hills.
In fact, Pahl-Gutfriend also took first prize for a pair of leather shoes.
As she sits down to talk about her skills it soon emerges the beautiful leather handbag that she places on the table was made by her, and so were her sandals.
This is a ranching family — it seemed like a no-brainer to make the boots and saddles they use daily, she explained.
She is a creative person and started by first taking a 10-day workshop to learn to make boots. One pair can take 70 hours to make, and the leather costs about $500.
After some initial experience she tracked down a master shoemaker from Hungary — Marcel Mrsan — who helped her refine her skills.
“I like to make original stuff you can’t buy, but is functional,” she said.
The process starts with a sketch of a design she has in mind. She then takes about 12 measurements of the foot the boot is for.
There are no patterns but she is a trained architectural technologist so says pattern making comes fairly easily to her. Then comes the process of carefully cutting out little pieces of leather from the pattern. She uses an industrial/commercial sewing machine but lots is done by hand, too.
“All the sole work is done by hand. There are no nails, all wooden pegged and hand sewn.”
Her purse has an intricately carved leather feature. Her mother taught her how to do that.
She makes boots for family but says the length of time it takes to make a pair means it is not worth making them to sell. The creative juices flow in the family. Her son Wyatt is a silversmith and took second prize for a copper feather necklace in the Better Living Show. His interest and skill developed after taking several classes in Kansas.
The item he is most proud of is a Maple Leaf emblem he crafted for Miss Rodeo Canada. The image, about four inches by four inches, is solid brass with plenty of intricate engraving. It can be easily attached as a decorative piece on a purse and then switched to different purses if so desired. The whole process took about 50 hours not including the design phase.