Handmade Leather Boots to Take Centerstage at New Brooklyn Shoe Event Next Month
A new footwear event is coming to Brooklyn’s Industry City next month.
Called Boot Camp, the two-day event slated to take place Oct. 6 and Oct. 7, will showcase over 20 bootmakers from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, England, Italy, Guatemala, Spain and China along with several other footwear-related companies.
According to event organizers, Boot Camp is intended to highlight the art of handmaking shoes through demonstrations, many of which have been in use for over 300 years. All the footwear found at Boot Camp will be made of at least 90 percent of leather, and will be both resoleable and fully rebuildable, offering the ability to last literal decades when taken care of properly, organizers said.
“In a world of disposable footwear, there’s something truly special about handmade boots and shoes,” Stitchdown and Boot Camp founder Ben Robinson, said in a statement. “When you begin to understand how they’re made, often with timeless processes, that’s when the light bulb really starts to go off. It’s taken well over a year to gather up the group of makers we have in place, and we couldn’t be more excited to have them share their craft with our guests.”
Participating brands that have already signed on to join next month’s event include Grant Stone, Nicks Boots, Viberg Boot, Crown Northampton, Meermin, and many more. U.S. leather tanning titans including Chicago’s famed Horween Leather Co. will also be on hand to display their products and drive deeper understanding of their processes, organizers added.
Attendees can also try their hands at hand-welted shoemaking with demos provided by Northampton England’s E. Woodford at an on-site workbench space with Brooklyn’s own bespoke shoemaker Francis Waplinger. A lineup of live industry panels, a display of hand-painted patina art from Perera, and a sample sale featuring “seriously discounted” samples, seconds, deadstock, and more will round out the weekend’s activities.
The event will also feature eats from the Industry City food hall, an exclusive barrel-aged stout collaboration with Untitled Art brewery, complimentary Smartwater, a full coffee bar, opening night celebrations, and an after-wrap party at Big Alice Brewing presented by Thursday Boots.
Tickets are available now at Stitchdownbootcamp.com.