The Stitchdown Shoecast

Just about one year ago, footwear/menswear super-retailer Division Road packed up the Seattle storefront that has served as its home for the better part of a decade, to move its operations to 45 acres in Scottsville, Virginia—a true rural area about 20 disturbingly scenic minutes outside Charlottesville.The promised plans for the relocation have been big—a true footwear and menswear destination that turns traditional retail completely on its head—but also not totally transparent. So Ticho and I had to find out just what the hell DR head man Jason Pecarich had in store, and headed down to the new DR CVA headquarters and property—aka The Fields—about a month ago.Guess what: it's good. Real good.DR's been chronicling its move and new evolution in a video series that is absolutely worth checking out. But to get an even fresher sense of things, may we also recommend listening to without a doubt the most idyllic Shoecast we've ever recorded.Sitting on a screened-in porch with the birds chirping away on the 45 acre farm, we sat down with Jason to discuss his vision for the new Division Road when it officially opens August 25, 2022; how The Fields are developing and what features will come online when; the ripping brand-driven event schedule he's got planned; the risks a move like this presents; and plenty, plenty more.This episode was sponsored by Grant Stone, one of the best values in Goodyear welted footwear, periodJoin the Stitchdown Discord today, unless you hate boots of course Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Former Dayton bootmaker Tess Gobeil is the co-founder of Awl Together Leather, a custom leatherwork and shoe repair shop in Vancouver, Canada that just so happens to be on our shortlist of Stitchdown-recommended cobblers.  She's also just an absolute hoot—we're pretty sure this episode sets the Shoecast "hey look at us, we're just sitting here cackling about shoe stuff" record by a country mile. Tess is also a woman—who runs Awl Together with her non-binary business partner Ariss—in a field that's overwhelmingly male-dominated. We get good and deep into how she's successfully navigated that landscape, along with her toughest/most enjoyable/most loathed/craziest/weirdest repair jobs, dogs eating boots, the boot cookies she gives to dogs who eat boots, Tim Horton's coffee, Montreal bagels, and plenty, plenty more. This episode was sponsored by Grant Stone, one of the best values in Goodyear welted footwear, periodJoin the Stitchdown Discord today, unless you hate boots of courseTheme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera  Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Summer shoes! Those are just...boots, right? Apparently not!In a Shoecast episode for which we applied 120 SPF sunscreen (to our shoes), Ticho and Ben first figure out what a summer shoe really means, and then get down into dishing out recommendations on loafers, handsewn moccasins of all kinds, unlined bluchers et al, boot-shoes (obviously), Birkenstocks, and, um...sandals? Yes, sandals—at which point it's revealed just how horrified of his own toes Ticho is. We also break down the lifestyle choice that is socklessness in frightening detail—including tips and tricks on what to do and not to do if you want to keep your feet in once piece. Which is always a good idea, in any season. Summer's just heating up, so give it a listen below!This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, where it's always leather jacket season, even in 97 degree heat (but also they sell sick tiger shirts)Theme Music: The Road by Punk Rock Opera Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Rising bootmaker Nathan Florsheim's shoe-famous last name isn't a coincidence—the great great grandson of Florsheim Shoes founder Milton Florsheim decided over a year ago to become the first person in his family to actually make a pair of boots themselves in generations. And man has he gotten good at it quickly. Under the benevolent tutelage our mutual friend Lars from Østmo Boots, Nathan has evolved into one of the most impressive one-person bootmakers in the US—NF Bootmaker—in basically no time flat, hand-making service boots with his trademark rivet using an impressively wide range of leathers. And he's committed to the craft—just before we spoke Nathan actually quit his day job to go full-time on bootmaking. So how did he get started? What challenges did he face at the beginning? What's absolutely scared the hell out of him along the way? Why do his boots have such sexy butts? HOW IN THE WORLD DO PEOPLE EVEN MAKE BOOTS THEMSELVES?? And what's next for NF? Nathan gets WAY in depth (and wonderfully nerdy) about all of it, and is incredibly generous  with the level of specific detail he offers. If you've ever considered making boots or shoes, or are just interested in the process that goes into it, you definitely don't want to miss this one. This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, which is now stocking excellent Japanese footwear brand Rolling Dub Trio—which is a very good thingJoin the Stitchdown Discord today, unless you hate boots of courseTheme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Over a decade ago, Tull Price's job was to travel to the world's coolest cities to expand his massively successful sneaker brand, Royal Elastics.  Sounds pretty great, right? Nope! The realities of the forces of globalization—and just how much landfilled-destined plastic waste the athletic footwear industry created—eventually became all too apparent. Tull sold his stake in Royal, and began traveling Europe and Asia with a different purpose: encamping in veg-tan tanneries and small workshops run by master shoemakers. To figure out a way to build footwear—and a brand—in a completely different way. From that, FEIT was born—some of the most unique truly handmade shoes produced at a moderately industrial scale that exist in the world.  Tull doesn't hold anything back while chatting with Ben from Stitchdown.com as they roll through the life cycles of Tull's two brands,  why he chooses to manufacture in China (maybe not the reasons you expect), what can drive sustainability in footwear (and what sustainability even truly means), how to evolve a brand that's committed to minimalism, and the ways micro-communities can sometimes have the largest positive impact of them all. This episode was sponsored by Grant Stone, one of the best values in Goodyear welted footwear, periodJoin the Stitchdown Discord today, unless you hate boots of courseTheme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera  Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Along with his brother Matt (the one with the mustache), Andrew Brodrick is half of Freenote Cloth, the near-decade-old denim-'n'-more brand (yes they sell boots!) that's committed to manufacturing its entire widening range of menswear in a small radius in and around Los Angeles. Andrew came on the Shoecast to lay out his philosophy on which cuts of denim should go with which boots (be warned: he's gonna push you towards the wider stuff); how maddeningly hard—but also extremely rewarding!—it can be to make heritage goods in the USA; where vintage reproduction menswear draws its inspiration; why he wears the same boots every single day; and, naturally, the best way to surf on the job. But without a doubt the most important part of this episode is Andrew's advice on how to break in a pair of raw denim, which includes a panel van, an airport parking garage, a giant pile of insurance money, and a near mass-kidnapping. We couldn't think of a better way to end Season 5 of the Shoecast. Help support the Shoecast by joining the Stitchdown Discord today (unless you hate shoes and boots of course)Theme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

The bootmaking world is a strange one in 2022. The easy part for top makers: finding customers who can't wait to buy their boots. The hard part? Sometimes it feels like literally everything else. Supply chain breakdowns are slapping delays on leather and other materials. Recruiting and training skilled bootmakers: never simple. So how's Wesco dealing? How's this whole thing get solved and what are the worries along the way? The 103-year-old Scappoose, Oregon bootmaker's sales director & more Chris Warren gets deep into it with Ben, along with running through Chris's 100%-Wesco personal collection, how you should size and fit and break in engineer boots, those dastardly four-wheeler injuries, what do to when Gen answers the phone at S&S, and plenty more. This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, which is now stocking excellent Japanese footwear brand Rolling Dub Trio—which is a very good thingJoin the Stitchdown Discord today, unless you hate boots of courseTheme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera  Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Ticho and Ben from Stitchdown are back with another good ol' fashioned Stitchdown Shoecast Shoebag episode, in which we answer probing listener questions like "are there any more rules with wedding shoes?", "how important is historical context when it comes to a pair of shoes or boots?", and "what's your ritual when you get a new pair?"—and we discover that Ticho's process is incredibly long, complicated, and full of olfactory satisfaction. Also he's very happy to tell everyone how much he loathes the carving stations at weddings that everyone else finds to be incredible. Classic Shoebag stuff!!This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, which is now stocking excellent Japanese footwear brand Rolling Dub Trio—which is a very good thing Join the Stitchdown Discord today, unless you hate boots of courseTheme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

They call Jim McFarland America's Cobbler for a darned good reason—the third generation in a line of cobblers that has run McFarland's Shoe Repair in Lakeland, Florida since 1918, Jim has repaired more shoes than you've ever seen. But the former president of the Shoe Service Institute of America—and Grand Silver Cup Award winner for excellence in shoe repair—knows what's going on with the industry as well as anyone, and he came on the Shoecast to discuss the disturbing decline in cobbler's shops in the US: from 120,000 in 1928 to around 3,500 today, the majority run by people rapidly approaching retirement age and without apprentices. Luckily there are some bright sides, including younger cobblers who do excellent work and also excel at social media to raise awareness. But it may not be nearly enough. So we pick that apart from all angles, and discuss ways Jim sees to stem the tide—and potentially, with any luck, reverse the troubling trend.  But hey we also had a ton of fun! We discuss the Grand Silver Cup and how the SSIA judges pick a winner,  plus the kindly man who had Jim seal a few grand in the sole of a shoe, which is totally normal. Oh and let's not forget that time he repaired the zipper on a body bag, or when he found a blunt in the ashtray of the Trans-Am he just bought, which has absolutely nothing to do with shoes. But, again, fun. This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, which sells the type of boots you'll need resoled like 18 times, because you're never going to want to take them off. Join the Stitchdown Discord today, unless you hate boots of courseTheme song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

The leather tanning process is an ancient one—almost 10,000 years old. And yet, it can also be a massive damn mystery! So Ashland Leather's Phil Kalas—who put in over a decade at Horween Leather—stopped by the Shoecast to take us through the entire leather tanning process, and all its possible routes to creating beautiful leather for footwear (and everything else). How does the veg-tanning process differ from chrome tanning? What's a base tan and what's a re-tan? How does grading work? Wet stuffing and hot stuffing? What are the different ways to dry hides and what does that affect? How does finishing go, and what's the deal with crust leather?? Phil lays it all out, in a beautifully understandable manner.  Even if you feel you know every single thing about leather, my suspicion is there's a LOT to learn in this one. This episode was sponsored by Grant Stone, one of the best values in Goodyear welted footwear, periodJoin the Stitchdown Discord today, unless you hate boots of courseTheme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera  Support the Shoecast, get full bonus episode access, and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membershiphttps://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/Check out our site!https://www.stitchdown.com/2025 dates and location for Stitchdown's Boot Camp 3—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—coming soon.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/