A Boot Collector Feature
A San Angelo bootmaker whose name survived a change of ownership — and whose new owner took it as a personal mission to keep the boots made in America.
Rusty Franklin Handmade Boot operated — and still operates under the name Franklin's Rusty Boot Co., Inc. — out of San Angelo, Texas, a city with a deep custom-bootmaking tradition that also includes M.L. Leddy's. The shop earned a spot on Texas Monthly's list of the state's top custom bootmakers, and surviving pairs — including full-quill ostrich examples — turn up in both working wardrobes and the collector resale market. More recently, the business passed to new owner Robert Brest, who's been explicit about his motivation for keeping it running: frustration with imported Western boots crowding out American-made craftsmanship, and a determination to keep this particular shop's production domestic.
Handmade exotic-skin Western boots out of San Angelo, and — under its current ownership — a deliberate stand for keeping custom bootmaking an American trade rather than an imported one.
A San Angelo name, kept alive on principle.
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.