The Stitchdown Shoecast

Edgy Albert on Which Shoes are Good and Not Good—and a Tribute to Denim Legend Roy Slaper

If you know Albert Muzquiz, it’s almost definitely as Edgy Albert, his highly accurate internet alter-ego.  Albert’s not just another menswearfluencer come-lately—he was

Keeping Maine Shoemaking Alive: The Rancourt & Co. Story

At one point, it was tough to find someone in Lewiston-Auburn, Maine that wasn't personally connected to the handsewn moccasin shoe industry. Today, few Maine shoema

How Can Wolverine Revive its Iconic 1000 Mile Brand? Justin Cupps Has Ideas.

Wolverine Worldwide is a footwear empire much bigger than just Wolverine 1000 Mile. Justin Cupps is six months into his role as President of the Work Group, which include

The (Mostly) Complete History of Cowboy Boots, with Bata Shoe Museum Director Elizabeth Semmelhack

Last time Elizabeth Semmelhack—Director and Senior Curator of the Toronto's exceptional Bata Shoe Museum—was on the Shoecast, she ran down a (mostly) complete histor

ACL's Michael Williams on Misguided Shoe Recs & The "Disappearing Middle" of Quality Footwear

Michael Williams is sometimes a “marketer who hates marketing,” who has helped many of the great US manufacturing brands, up to and including Red Wing. Other times he he’

Carmina Shoemaker's Carmina Albaladejo on Family Tradition, Global Retail, and Custom Shoes

Carmina Albaladejo heads US operations for the exquisite Spanish shoemaker with the exact same (first) name as her.  In this Stitchdown Shoecast episode we discuss how s

The New Thing in Footwear Leather? 145-Year-Old Veg-Tanner Hermann Oak.

Hermann Oak has been tanning leather in St. Louis since 1881, and they pretty much still do it the same way—one way, which of course is veg-tanning. Traditionally a major

Nathan Florsheim is Proudly Working Slower Than Ever

Back in 2021, I got a great email from a young bootmaker named Nathan Florsheim who wanted to chat. Boy am I glad I took that call.  About a year later I had Nathan—grea

Goods & Services' Rory Fortune on Red Wing Collabs and When to Pull Back on Customization

This week on the Shoecast we’re bringing back Rory Fortune, founder of Los Angeles-based Goods & Services, which continues to be one of the most interesting footwear oper

Bespoke Cowboy Bootmaker Zephan Parker's Formula to Keep Craft Alive

How do we keep craft alive in an over-technological society? Is it via the individual maker? Or more of a collective workshop approach?  Houston-based bespoke cowboy boo

The Artistically Twisting Journey of Brooklyn's Bespoke Shoemaker, Anne Marika Verploegh Chassé

My chat this week is with Brooklyn -based bespoke shoemaker, educator, and artist Anne Marika Verploegh Chassé, aka STIEFELwerk.  Two decades ago, Marika came at shoemak

Vintage Boot Wishlists and Reconsidering Tassel Loafers: It's Ticho on the Shoebag!

It's Shoebag time for Shoecast season 17. Which means it's time for a serious dose of Ticho, who joins me to unpack all the biggest listener questions. Why are

Why Making Things By Hand Has Never Been More Important, w/ Cowboy Bootmaker Emily Boksenbaum

When I met Emily Boksenbaum at our Maker’s Day 2025 conference in Chicago, I knew I had to get her on the Shoecast. Emily’s always made stuff. First it was art growing u

Why It’s Harder Than Ever to Start a Shoe Brand, w/ the Shoe Snob Justin FitzPatrick

Justin FitzPatrick aka the Shoe Snob on fiery times in the comments section, what a dress shoe customer even looks like in 2026, button boots (obviously), and why it’s ne

Skip Horween & Nicks Boots' Shuyler Mowe—Live from Boot Camp Chicago 2025

In November 2025, we did a thing. Stitchdown’s Boot Camp 2025 Chicago was a quality footwear mega-expo, a materials trade show, a crossroads of the industry we love, and

Franklin & Poe's Andrew Li on Where Retail's Going, Malls, and The Perfect White Tee

My chat this week is with Andrew Li of Philadelphia’s Franklin & Poe, one of the best shops in the US for serious quality footwear, denim, and more.  I got to know Andre

Thursday Boot Co.'s Nolan Walsh on Their Own León Factory, Last Obsessiveness, and The Comfort Question

The joke has always been that Thursday Boot Company’s Connor Wilson keeps his co-founder Nolan Walsh trapped in a factory working on the product. Turns out that joke actu

Shoebag w/ Ticho: The Best Shoemaking Teachers, Arch Support, and a LOT of Butter

If you came to this podcast about shoes and boots and leather hoping that you’d get to listen to extended conversations about imported cultured butter, you’ve made a fant

Red Wing Heritage President George Curleigh on Retail, Time Capsules, and The Red Wing Way

George Curleigh has been president of Red Wing’s heritage division since 2019, in which time he’s been able to enjoy a list of very fun things including a worldwide pande

How to Revive The Cobbling Industry? Teach it in High School—and it's Already Working.

This past fall, Matt Paisley launched a shoe repair program at Colorado's Thunder Ridge high school, with nearly two dozen students taking the plunge and immediately