A love of shoes
I've always been a fan of footwear. I have a hard time not buying a nice pair when I see them - when I operated my creative agency I owned over 25 pairs of sneakers! I still have many of those sneakers, like my leather PF Flyers - I love those shoes!
When shopping for shoes, I'm after a unique look, I like the uncommon but not in an odd sort of way and not different for the sake of being different. I guess I just don't wanna have what everyone else has. This search has provided me with a large selection of very different shoes and boots in a variety of styles. Some of the shoes I've purchased aren't very expensive while they're nice for a while - at that point they're done. Like done, done. The more expensive shoes and boots I've purchased can be re-soled, repaired and can last years.
Just this year, I just threw out my cowboy boots, which were resoled twice - I bought them in 1991. At the time, I spent $220 on them which was quite a bit for a young man, early in his career back in the day. But, I got over 25 years of wear out of them! If I had bought a cheap pair for $100, I probably would have had to replace them 3 or 4 times by now.
I learned how to take care of my boots, including a great spit polish, in the army - where your boots were your livelihood. Today, I take simple care of my shoes, I use shoe trees always and I waterproof/wax them with some regularity. This is important with any footwear made of natural materials.
In my last company, I traveled to New York many times and each time I found a little time to do some shopping, usually the night I arrived. I purchased many pairs of shoes in NY. One of my favourite designers is John Varvatos, so I've got some shoes and boots from his shop but mostly I just look for design and quality.
I guess, I've always had a fascination and appreciation with and for footwear, which is why I suppose the idea of starting my own zapateria (shoe store in Spanish) came so easily.
It's exciting to have some input into the final product and to know how good the quality of the goods you are selling. The first pair of boots I received, I took to a local cobbler to dissect and to let me know the quality - he said they were built really good and that we weren't charging enough.
Even though our shop is new, the artisans that are making our shoes have been at it for two generations and are very skilled. We may have a few minor hiccups in measuring and sizing but nothing that can't be fixed. We will be dedicated to ensuring people are happy with their boots. It's our promise.