The Stitchdown Shoecast

Two and a half years into its existence, Artisan Boot & Shoe—which sprung forth following the Batavia, New York P.W. Minor factory's unfortunate demise—is showing signs that while American footwear manufacturing might not be what it was decades ago, it's definitely got a fighting chance to show new growth alongside the Pacific Northwest and and Maine-based stalwarts we love over here at Stitchdown. Artisan's owner Nicole Porter has shepherded the operation's emergence, manufacturing for Stitchdown favorite Parkhurst and Wolverine, and seeing an interesting influx of new brand partners especially over the last year. This episode, Ben and Ticho from from Stitchdown.com  talk to Nicole about how the whole P.W. Minor thing went down, how she constructed Artisan, her outlook on the broader US shoe manufacturing industry, and the challenges she faces being a woman in a male-dominated space. It's an important and fascinating conversation, and an extremely fun one despite some very real moments. Also we eat a lot of Oliver's sponge candy, which is also very important.This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, where you don't NEED an engineering degree to buy their engineer boots...but it helps.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/A website. We have one.https://www.stitchdown.com/We'd better see you at Stitchdown Chicago 2026—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—Nov 6-7 at Artifact Events.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

With an incredible range of outsoles available to choose from, how does a footwear lover narrow things down to just one? There are huge questions to tackle. How do you weigh looks vs functionality?  Durability vs traction? Comfort vs capability? WILL TICHO FINALLY ADMIT THAT WEDGE SOLES ABSOLUTELY RULE???This week, we talk about our favorite (and a few of our least favorite) outsoles—from Dainite and some Vibrams we love, to Dr. Sole and Ridgeway—and throw more history and facts at you than you likely thought was possible. Get on in there and figure out the right move for your next pair.  This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, where you don't NEED an engineering degree to buy their engineer boots...but it helps.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/A website. We have one.https://www.stitchdown.com/We'd better see you at Stitchdown Chicago 2026—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—Nov 6-7 at Artifact Events.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Matt Gray came out of nowhere to become an instant Alden legend, and one of the Instagram kings of rare shell cordovan. Now Matt and partner Jim Pietryka—who has almost a decade of experience in the shoe biz and an insane vintage shoe collection—are about to celebrate the second anniversary of their Raleigh, NC shop Ealdwine. In the first episode of Shoecast Season 3, Ben from Stitchdown.com and Ticho cover a ton with Matt & Jim, from how they cook up some of the best, most distinctive Alden makeups in the entire game, to Jim's oldest vintage shoes (from the 40s!), to what shell cordovan would look like with Matt's face printed on it (and how we might be able to make it actually happen. Oh and they let the cat out of the boot-bag on a very exciting brand they'll be stocking soon....This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, where you don't NEED an engineering degree to buy their engineer boots...but it helps. 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/A website. We have one.https://www.stitchdown.com/We'd better see you at Stitchdown Chicago 2026—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—Nov 6-7 at Artifact Events.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

The Pacific Northwest is home to the last remaining epicenter of quality bootmaking in the US (and Canada)—and the stories of how the makers White's Boots, Wesco, Nicks Handmade Boots, and Viberg came to be, and how they persisted, are quite honestly nothing short of phenomenal. And you may know plenty about them! But Ticho and Ben from Stitchdown dug deeper than could possibly be considered sane into the archives of those four stalwart brands to uncover the stories that haven't been told before. We've got a man who made the very boots he walked in for SEVEN MONTHS to evade capture during WWII. We've got 100-year-old catalogs with the most colorful boot-language you've ever heard. We've got Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is an illuminating history lesson worth giving, and an inspiring ride worth taking. Buckle on up. This episode was sponsored by Nicks Handmade Boots: one of the most capable, indestructible boots available anywhere—and damn stylish too!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/A website. We have one.https://www.stitchdown.com/We'd better see you at Stitchdown Chicago 2026—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—Nov 6-7 at Artifact Events.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Carl Murawski is a man of many facets—and many boots. Sure, he's the world's largest YouTube star (and definitely go check out his excellent channel right here), and a man with a genuinely impressive perspective on so much of the fashion world. But he's also a licensed electrician who puts his footwear through more than 99% of people—and has some fantastic boot stories to tell from every step of his career.We also get into some really important boot-thinky stuff: Carl's deeply thoughtful outlook on the blue collar gatekeeping around workboots, how he views buying boots and clothing that are built to last forever...and then having a ton of them that don't get worn enough, and of course, the three pairs he couldn't live without. And be sure to check out Carl's YouTube page (after listening of course)!This episode was sponsored by Nicks Handmade Boots: one of the most capable, indestructible boots available anywhere—and damn stylish too!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/A website. We have one.https://www.stitchdown.com/We'd better see you at Stitchdown Chicago 2026—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—Nov 6-7 at Artifact Events.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

2020: Interesting year! I feel like a few things happened.PLENTY also happened in the shoe world. Far more certainly than one  could’ve anticipated given the circumstances. This episode, Ben from Stitchdown.com and @tichoblancoshoes run them all down and give a bit of perspective on where 2021 might take us (like, possibly wearing a ton of engineer boots, maybe?!?). This episode was sponsored by Nicks Handmade Boots: one of the most capable, indestructible boots available anywhere—and damn stylish too!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/A website. We have one.https://www.stitchdown.com/We'd better see you at Stitchdown Chicago 2026—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—Nov 6-7 at Artifact Events.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

It's Brett Viberg time! Few people have exerted as much influence over the quality footwear industry over the past decade as Brett has while he's reshaped Viberg Boot from an industrial boot manufacturer to arguably the most important lifestyle boot brand in the entire scene. This episode Ben and Brett talk about Viberg's future—what is it advancing towards as a product, and as a brand, and why?—as well as the new widths the Canadian manufacturer rolled out in the past few weeks, how he evolves boot patterns and lasts, his favorite and least favorite boots he's ever made, whether or not there will be a sample sale in 2021, and plenty, plenty more. Definitely an episode not to be missed. This episode was sponsored by Grant Stone, one of the best overall values in fine footwear you can find anywhere. Check them out!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/A website. We have one.https://www.stitchdown.com/We'd better see you at Stitchdown Chicago 2026—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—Nov 6-7 at Artifact Events.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Alden's Brett Klein is one of the true mensches of the footwear world. A huge part of his job is to help retailers—and humble shoe podcasters who devise Stitchup boots—dream up and refine the incredible makeups that define Peak Alden for so many of us. He's also one of the shell cordovan-fading kings of this world, having put in the time (in the sun) to beautifully alter his color 8 shell boots, and documenting the whole thing along the way with the instagram hashtag #thefadedboot.This week, @tichoblancoshoes and Ben from Stitchdown talk to Brett about how to get those exceptional fades—and if fading black shell cordovan works—as well as some of the archive gems he's seen in the Alden factory, and how he's seen the American shoemaking industry sadly ravaged by private equity and other forces. And of course what he's got in his own closet, and the Alden boot he'd keep if he could only choose one forever. Oh and one more big one: IS RARE SHELL CORDOVAN ACTUALLY RARE OR NOT??? Brett's got all the answers. This episode was sponsored by Grant Stone, one of the best overall values in fine footwear you can find anywhere. Check them out!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/A website. We have one.https://www.stitchdown.com/We'd better see you at Stitchdown Chicago 2026—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—Nov 6-7 at Artifact Events.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

Ahhhh, the Shoe Journey. The voyage from understanding essentially nothing about great shoes and boots to...GETTING IT. It's a path that winds in all directions, and no journey is the same for any two people. But there are almost always similarities! Flashpoints and big mistakes and everything else that shapes a shoe lover into what they are today—an evolution which, if you're doing it right, continues essentially forever. And damn is it fun. This episode, Ben from Stitchdown and @tichoblancoshoes track things all the way back to the beginning of their own shoe journeys, which involved trips to Sears, possibly fraudulent Nikes, Sparks Energyboozedrinks, and way too much Fun Dip, before beginning to see the shoe-filled light. This episode was sponsored by Mark Albert Boots, whose new Italian-made Chelseas are just hitting the streets right now. Check out the whole line!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/A website. We have one.https://www.stitchdown.com/We'd better see you at Stitchdown Chicago 2026—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—Nov 6-7 at Artifact Events.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/

WHAT ARE THE BEST VALUE SHOES I CAN BUY? It's the thing everyone wants to know. And while there are some sure-thing answers when it comes to pure bang-for-the-buck, finding the best value footwear, for you, and perhaps more importantly, extracting the maximum value from your shoes and boots, is a little more complicated. This episode, Ben from @Stitchdown and @tichoblancoshoes get (as they tend to) dangerously deep on what value means, and lay out some crucial principles to understand and consider before you make your next pickup. Obviously, we also decide once and for all what the worst Skittles flavor is. This episode was sponsored by Standard & Strange, where you don't NEED an engineering degree to buy their engineer boots...but it helps.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/A website. We have one.https://www.stitchdown.com/We'd better see you at Stitchdown Chicago 2026—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—Nov 6-7 at Artifact Events.https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/