A Boot Collector Feature
A now-closed Santa Fe retailer that, by collector accounts, commissioned small, contracted runs of reproduction vintage-style boots from outside bootmakers.
Santa Fe Boot Company was a Western boot retailer on San Francisco Street in downtown Santa Fe, a city with a long-running tradition of specialty boot and Western-wear shops. The storefront has since closed. What makes it interesting to collectors isn't just that it sold boots, but how some of its inventory reportedly came to exist: by commissioning small, limited runs from outside bootmakers who reproduced styles originally introduced by longer-established makers like Little's. That kind of retailer-commissioned side work was common enough in the Western boot trade, letting a shop offer distinctive, limited-run pairs without running its own full production line.
Being a Santa Fe retail name collectors now associate with well-made reproduction boots rather than a single bootmaker's own signature style — the actual hands behind many of its pairs likely belonged to a contracted maker working under its own name on the label, such as Kassie.
A closed Santa Fe shop whose boots are still turning up — and still being pieced together.
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.