A Boot Collector Feature
Ruben Cobos started his shop in Mexico at eighteen. Six decades later, his family's Lubbock, Texas storefront has a TikTok following to match its reputation.
Ruben Cobos — RC — founded "La Reyna Del Arte" in Mexico in 1962 at just eighteen years old, starting with two employees and growing the operation to 35 workers turning out roughly 80 pairs a week. In 2005, his daughter Alejandra moved to Lubbock, Texas and set up a flea market booth with twelve pairs, which sold out immediately — enough proof of demand that the family opened a proper retail storefront, RC Custom Boots, in Lubbock the following year. RC's son Iram joined the trade too, developing a specialty in inlays and hand-tooled embellishments that's become a signature of the shop's work.
Boots proudly handmade in Mexico and sold through a family-run Lubbock storefront, durable enough that working cowboys have adopted them for daily wear despite competition from factory-made alternatives. The shop has also built a substantial following on TikTok, introducing traditional hand-tooled bootmaking to an audience that found it through video rather than word of mouth.
A 1962 Mexico shop, still family-run, now a TikTok favorite in Lubbock.
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.