Making Shoes By Hand: A Sneak Peak into The Lost Art of American Shoemaking at Mattimore Harness in Laramie, Wyoming
Did you know that only 1% of shoes are still made in America and one of those shoemakers has been in downtown Laramie, Wyoming for over a decade making top quality all American made boots? Mattimore Harness makes custom designed shoes and boots from hand and ships them all over the world. Send them a sketch of your dream shoe and bring it to life, get a new pair of cowboy boots with your own design stitched in on the side, or just get a simple high quality pair of shoes custom made to fit your feet that won’t wear out!
A lot of the machinery in the shop is over 100 years old and still works just fine, like this shoe sole stitcher from 1901. Some of the machines were donated to the workshop from living history museums to keep the knowledge of the trade alive as well as to serve as their own living museum and historical testament to the industrial era of America.
Definitely stop by their shop and check out the old equipment for the nickel tour and see how shoes are made for yourself or order a pair for yourself online. I am SO proud that we have such fine small businesses carrying on these classic American traditions and feel thankful that I’m able to help keep such an amazing craft alive. Spread the word, take on of their 2 week course and learn how to make your own patterns at shoe making school as an apprentice, find them on Facebook @MattimoreHarness, give them a call at (307) 760-1866, shop online at http://civilwarboots.com or stop by for yourself M-F 8am-11am and 1pm-4pm at 512 S 3rd St in historic downtown Laramie, Wyoming and help keep these traditions alive and as a bonus, you’ll end up with the coolest, most durable, and unique shoes in town.
