Custom Cowboy Bootmaker Jake Houston on Preserving Knowledge, León Mexico, and Zebra Races
About a half hour from Reno, there’s a place called Virginia City Nevada, where everything feels like it’s 1859 and the US’s largest silver deposit was just discovered. The bars say saloon and look th...
15 Maj 20251h 46min
Seiji McCarthy is Making Some of the World's Greatest American Bespoke Shoes—In Japan
Tokyo-based, half-American/half-Japanese Seiji McCarthy discusses his uniquely late path into shoemaking, the development of his vintage-Americana-inspired bespoke line, why he feels more American in ...
6 Maj 20251h 30min
Is Turriff Functional Footwear Making the Best-Quality Barefoot Shoe on the Market?
This week we've got a chat with Andrew Turriff, a Canadian shoemaker who studied at Cordwainer’s Footwear Design program in London, worked for some big sneaker brands, and did pattern work for fellow ...
29 Apr 20251h 38min
How Tariffs Are Already Impacting the Footwear Industry, with FDRA CEO Matt Priest
Matt Priest, President and CEO of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, came on the Shoecast the morning after 104% tariffs on Chinese goods into the US hit in a rapidly-moving-target tr...
10 Apr 202546min
All the Shoes & Boots Derek Guy Loves—and a Few He Really Doesn't—From Bespoke to Workboots
Derek’s an OG forum junkie turned menswear writer for Put This On, mass publications like The New York Times, and his own always-excellent blog Die Workwear!. In the last few years, Derek has become, ...
13 Feb 20251h 29min
What Opie Way's Justin James Lost in Hurricane Helene—and What He Found
In 2019, Justin James started Opie Way, a recraftable sneaker brand made right in Asheville North Carolina, USA, using incredibly high quality materials—something that basically didn’t exist previousl...
4 Feb 20251h 17min
Skateboard Legend Jamie Thomas Goes Inside a 300° Oven To Explain How Skate Shoes are Made
Jamie Thomas is one of the most revered skateboarders of all time—and also a footwear designer and serial skate shoe brand founder. The release of his latest brand Warsaw seemed as good an excuse as a...
28 Jan 20251h 12min
How to Make Your Leather Footwear Last Literally (Possibly) Forever, With Pure Polish's Andy Vaughn
The idea that well-made, resoable footwear can last almost literally forever is one of its core allures—but it’s a promise that simply won’t come true if it’s not cared for properly. Especially the le...
7 Jan 20251h 11min
