Metal Spurs, Hiking Boots, Backpacks

Charles Wendt ♦ Kevin Leahy ♦ The Martinez Family

METAL SPURS, HIKING BOOTS, BACKPACKS | Host Jill Wagner travels the country on a quest to find talented craftsmen who still make incredible items by hand. In Llano, Texas, Jill spends time with Charles Wendt, a metal worker who recruits her how to help make a custom pair of traditional cowboy spurs. In Felton, California, Jill steps into complete comfort when she meets Kevin Leahy who makes custom hiking boots that perfectly fit each customer’s foot. Finally, in Portland, Oregon, Jill meets the Martinez family from Mexico that makes functional as well as fashionable canvas and leather backpacks from all-American materials.

PHOTOS ♦ ARTISANS

METAL SPURS | Charles Wendt

What’s more Texas than some handcrafted spurs! Charles Wendt was voted one of the top spur makers by the Western…Read more

Why is it important for people to make things with their hands?
To make something with your own hands is giving of a part of yourself for everyone to see and enjoy. We all pass through life…Read more

MEET CHARLES | ARTISANS

HIKING BOOTS | Kevin Leahy

These boots were made for walking. No, but really, they were! Kevin Leahy’s custom hiking boots are literally made for your foot…Read more

Why is it important for people to make things with their hands?
Turning raw materials into useful or artistic objects is a type of alchemy...Read more

MEET KEVIN | ARTISANS

BACKPACKS | Jose Martinez

For the Orox family, leather making runs four generations deep. The patriarch, Jose, grew up in Oaxaca, Mexico. His father…Read more

What do you enjoy most about your craft?
Being able to carry on the traditions of our ancestors is an honor. Being able to turn our tradition into a sustainable business is...Read more

MEET JOSE | ARTISANS

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