Maverick Style: Inspired by the West

The Perfect Representation of Art and Craft

I had the pleasure of meeting custom bootmaker Lisa Sorrell at the Western Design Conference in 2010. Lisa designs and builds each and every pair of her cowboy boots completely by hand, creating the most beautiful and intricate designs you have ever seen. Her boots are designed for those who truly appreciate the cowboy boot as a work of art.

Lisa Sorrell did not plan on a career as a bootmaker. She grew up in southwest Missouri where her family belonged to a very conservative church. Her mother taught her to sew as a young girl, and by the age of 15, she was creating dresses for many of the women in her church. Her work became so popular that soon she was sewing for the entire community. Lisa married her husband Dale in 1990, and they moved to Guthrie, Oklahoma for Dale's job. Lisa missed her sewing business and decided to answer an ad in the local paper to stitch boot tops, although she had no idea what that entailed. Because of her excellent sewing skills, Lisa was hired by master bootmaker and designer Jay Griffith. Lisa was immediately facinated with the craft of bootmaking, and was determined to learn as much as possible.

Lisa spent a year and half working with Jay Griffith, and also worked with another bootmaker to learn the entire process step-by-step. After some additional time as an unpaid apprentice, Lisa opened Sorrell Custom Boots in 1996. Within three years Lisa Sorrell's work was well recognized, and her boots were featured in Tyler Beard's coffee table book, The Art of the Boot. Over the last several years Lisa has won many awards for her cowboy boots. She continued to receive acclaim this last year when she and her daughter Paige were featured in the "Family" episode of Craft in America in October.

Lisa Sorrell has created so many pairs of spectacular cowboy boots, that it was a major challenge to decide which ones to showcase here. I finally decided that it would be fun to feature two pairs of brand new boots that are still works in progress, along with a pair of completed boots. Because Lisa works alone without the help of any employees or machinery, each pair of boots takes about a month of hard work to create. Reflecting her love for music, all of Lisa Sorrell's boots are named with a bluegrass or country song title.

Lisa is just about finished with the carved boots on the left, which are a collaboration with talented leather artisan Howard Knight. This is the second time they have worked together on this boot design. It is called "Save the Last Dance," and it is one of my favorite boot designs. The boots in the center are a reproduction of a vintage Nudie design for one of Lisa's best customers in California. Lisa has named this pair of boots "Nobody Wants to be a Country" after the Statler Brothers song which references Nudie suits. I love the intricacy of the design and the use of metallic leather, which is unusual and striking.

If you "like" Sorrell Custom Boots on Facebook, you can follow along as Lisa creates her stunning boots. The boots on the right are called "Wishful Thinking," and they are also a work in progress. The design is a variation of one of her original designs called "Waltz of the Angels." Both songs were hits for Wynn Stewart.

Because Lisa's boots are custom made by hand, they are not cheap. Her base price for a custom made pair of boots is $3,500, and they are well worth the price. However, If a pair of Lisa's boots are not in your budget right now, do not despair. Lisa recently began offering Lisa Sorrell Cowboy Boot playing cards for only $20. These fabulous playing cards feature 52 of Lisa's spectacular cowboy boot designs. What a wonderful and affordable gift for anyone who loves the art of the cowboy boot!

To see more of Lisa's stunning cowboy boots, learn how to place a order for custom cowboy boots, and to order Lisa's Cowboy Boot playing cards, visit the Sorrell Custom Boots website.