A Boot Collector Feature
Ignacio "Nacho" Martinez helped build boots for a sitting U.S. president before running his own shop with his son out of a Raymondville garage.
Ignacio "Nacho" Martinez — called an unsung elder of the trade in a Texas Monthly feature on the state's top custom bootmakers — was part of the team that built boots for President Dwight D. Eisenhower for the 1954 dedication ceremony of Falcon Dam. Martinez spent most of his career at Raymondville's since-closed Rios Boots before going out on his own, working from his garage alongside his son Joe. The feature highlighted his flaming-red rose inlays, intricate braided-lace piping, and lizard scallops, with pairs at the time starting around $300 and a six-to-eight week turnaround.
A direct link to presidential bootmaking history, carried forward as a small father-and-son garage shop. Clients have included ranching families including the Armstrongs, Klebergs, and Yturrias.
From a presidential commission to a Raymondville garage shop.
Pairs from smaller, custom, or long-closed makers rarely come up for sale, so this search may not find anything. It’s worth checking back now and then.