Hats, boots and hot sauce are just some of items for sale
Tammy Black has waited nine years for a booth in the vendor space in NRG Center during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and she’s getting her Old Gringo cowboy boot inventory ready for the crowd that knows how to dress for the occasion.
Black was a gemologist who sold diamonds before getting into the boot business, opting to sell something she loves and wears on a daily basis.
“I decided to go with Old Gringo because I love their boots,” said Black, a native of Nazareth, who now lives in Lubbock and owns 12 pairs of the boots. “It’s a fashion boot with a cowboy flair. They’re all handmade and really comfortable.”
Black’s business is Black Market Boots, specializing in the Old Gringo brand, because she knew the brand wasn’t well represented at retail shows such as RodeoHouston or the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
During the run of the rodeo, NRG Center will be filled with vendors offering everything from Western wear, jewelry and boots, to handmade furniture, cowhide rugs and other home goods, as well as all sorts of food products.
Dixie and Kirby Berger of Pure Dixie handbags and belts will also be rodeo first-timers, and Catherine Myers will bring her Boerne Brand Texas Style Hot Sauce.
Black has been in business several years, but Myers and the Bergers are relative newcomers in their businesses.
Wyoming-based Pure Dixie was born when Kirby, a rancher and saddlemaker, helped his wife, Dixie, who owned an embroidery-screen printing business, create a unique cowhide handbag. Her friends admired it, everyone wanted their own and a business was born. Their three kids, ages 6, 10 and 12, are involved, too, and will help mom and dad during part of the show.
Now, they make belts, larger handbags and mini cross-body bags that all work together. The mini-bag can be clipped to the outside of a larger bag and belts can be transformed into handbag straps. They add tooling and embellishments, such as beading, turquoise, silver and patches, and a number of the add-ons are meant for Texans, with some shaped like the state or embossed with the state flag. They’re even licensed to use the rodeo’s logo — a bow-legged H wearing a cowboy hat and boots.
“Everything in our booth is completely interchangeable, so you can pick and choose what you like and mix and match everything,” Dixie Berger said. “And it’s versatile. You can make it very Western depending on what you choose, but you can definitely make it more urban.”
The Bergers launched their business in 2016, and went full time with it last year. While they’ll be at the rodeo for the arduous, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. 22-day run, you can also find their goods online at puredixie.com.
While prices vary, belt-bag-mini bag combinations cost around $550, though items with turquoise and silver run much higher. Belts run $178-$300, mini bags are $118-$125 and larger bags are $210-$300.
Myers is a native Houstonian with a lot of childhood memories from the rodeo. Her jalapeño-based hot sauce — created with the help of chefs and food nutritionists — isn’t so much a dipping sauce as it is an ingredient to add to other things, from bloody marys and margaritas to enchiladas.
“We always did carnival rides and ate the great food. You knew you were at rodeo when you could smell it,” said Myers, a licensed therapist who shifted to the hot sauce business a year and a half ago.
For Black, her wait as a rodeo vendor is finally over. Having sold her boots at the Nutcracker Market, she’s ready for Houston’s hearty appetite for shopping. She’ll bring 60 boot styles for men and women, including her popular Nevada, a basic boot with plenty of stitching and in burnt orange for UT fans.
Her state of Texas boots are filled with icons, such as images of Gene Autry and Willie Nelson, the Alamo, space shuttles, Spindletop and, of course, the state flag. The boots are hand-tooled, take nine months to complete and come with a $5,000 price tag.