Interview with Cobra Rock Boot Company

Maria Kai - Copenhagen — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 13:01:14 +0000

In my #1 · Dear Santa… wish-list post (1/12-13), I wrote about The Cobra Rock Boot Company and how I coveted their stunning ‚South Highand Boots‘. By way of my own stubornness, I can now declare that I am the proud and happy owner of a pair! So beware out there, as soon as the sun comes out more permanently, so the rain and snow wont hurt my babies, I will be strutting around like a dapper rooster on any and every sidewalk, showing them off.
On our roadtrip to Marfa we had the opportunity to visit the shop and take a look at where the hard work happens. Unfortunately Cole and Logan (the amazing owners), where out on travels, instead their sweet friend Ariele took excellent care of us. It was very surreal to suddenly stand in the room surrounded by the shoes and tools that I had stared and stared at on my google image research. And seeing the bag with my name on, pulling out the boots smelling of the thick, fat leather and then turning them over to see the mahogany dark, glossy polished leather soles, soft like two pieces of amber – I kid you not, I nearly shed a tear. No such emotion can a pair of factory, mass produced boots from China ever evoke.

Here is a little post-visit email interview I did with Logan and Colt about working with your hands every day and how that effects their life.

– Living in small town Marfa in Texas, making boots on old machines in a traditional and hard-on-the-hands kind of way – do you ever feel time travelling, when visiting fx LA or NYC?

A little bit! Life is definitely slower here. Marfa is a wonderful place since it’s geographically isolated, but culturally rich with artists, musicians and writers either living here or traveling through. We love that we’re able to watch a sunset over the West Texas plains where antelope are grazing and then go to an art opening when the stars come out.

– Has this way of living changed your views on life?

We feel very fortunate that we are able to make a living doing what we love, especially in a small town. We are both from rural communities and thought we would need to move to a larger town or city to be able to do the work we want to do.

– What is the most challenging part of your lifestyle/work?

Some of the boot-making steps are physically demanding, but honestly just keeping up with our orders is the most challenging part. We know that is a good problem! We spend the majority of our time making the boots people have ordered, so we are slower on making new designs than we would like. Balancing production and new creation is our current challenge.

– How long does it take to make one pair of shoes?

We can make more than one pair at a time, but the whole process takes about two weeks to make a pair.

– There is a 6-8 months waiting list for a pair of South Highland boots selling at 500$, and they are increasingly sought after. Do you have any thoughts on how come your boots has gained such success?

We wanted to make a boot for women that was good looking but as tough as a work boot, using the same techniques that handmade cowboy boot makers have used for a century. Colt apprenticed with a cowboy boot maker near his home town in the Panhandle of Texas and made custom cowboy boots for several years before starting Cobra Rock. Marfa draws people who are interested in art, architecture, fashion and design, so we are lucky to have customers who appreciate our handmade process. We have tried to make a modern boot that pays tribute to the place and history around us.

– Do you have plans for expanding your production to include other leather goods? (fx bags, other styles of boots etc)

Yes! Last year we were able to enlist the help of a few West Texan bootmakers to help us work on certain steps, and that has enabled us to have more time to design. We have a lot of plans for 2014! Expect more styles, colors and leather products coming from us later this year.

IMG_3920 a video snippet of the shop.

All photos by me

Der Beitrag Interview with Cobra Rock Boot Company erschien zuerst auf Jane Wayne News.

Roadtrippin‘

Maria Kai - Copenhagen — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 11:47:31 +0000

And then it went. That month of heavenly pleasures and endless fun and I am already sitting like a stuffed animal, tucked away in woolly jumpers, holding hot coffee mugs, with a slight frown on my face at the weather outside. Uff… only late in life I realized how little I care for snow and ice, although in vast landscapes its grandeur holds such stunning beauty. But here the ice is snot-yellow and I am constantly about to fall on my ass from the icy roads and people look grumpy, and so do I. Admitted I have been terrible at updating my little blog-space in here, but it is the same thing that happens every time. I am so excited about everything and think that I will be writing and posting about it all the time. But then life happens and I get completely consumed by it and forget about the lap top – except instagram, cause it is so easy and I snap photos of all the marvelous things I see.

My friend Jordan and I embarked on a roadtrip to Marfa. We stayed at the El Cosmico greatly designed by Liz Lambert, it’s a bit pricey, but you can stay in anything from Safari tents to re-decorated Airstream trailers, fully equipped with kitchens and outdoor hot tubs. On a star-strewn night, with a bottle of wine and good company, you are garanteed an unforgettable time.

Well finally it here it is, 2nd Texas travel photo-essay. And while looking, listen to this, the Allah-Las

This is ab old post office still in function! No one ever see anyone there, just hear their voices.
Reminded me of the police station in Twin Peaks.

In Texas people still dream of cowboys and Indians.

And people are old school and still hold hands..

There are forever many churches in Texas,,,

Jordan trying to woo the cat pack

in love with cats forever

First night in a Safari tent with heated madrasses – it gets cold at night in the desert.

Ever wanna play a game of pool, call me.

El Cosmico – I can strongly recommend staying there, although a bit pricy.

‚The Pinky‘ our trailer

The biggest dog I ever saw, possibly the size of a pony.

Outdoors shower, freezing but fun.

All photos by me – some of them up on my instagram: _JohnnyBob

Der Beitrag Roadtrippin‘ erschien zuerst auf Jane Wayne News.

Marfa Archive - Jane Wayne News

Interview with Cobra Rock Boot Company

Roadtrippin‘