A Boot Collector Feature
Dave Wheeler has worked in his father's Houston shop since he was twelve years old — four decades on, he's still building boots as art.
Dave Wheeler started working at his father's Houston bootshop at age twelve, and four decades later he still runs the Wheeler Boot Company alongside his wife and mother, carrying the family tradition forward. A Texas Monthly feature on the state's top custom bootmakers singled out the shop's colorful, elaborately designed boots-as-art, with pairs at the time starting around $825 and an eleven-month turnaround.
Elaborate, art-forward boot designs built by a three-generation Houston family shop, with clients that have included Vice President Dick Cheney, actor Robert Duvall, and defense attorney Dick DeGuerin. Dave Wheeler's bench has also trained other Houston-area bootmakers who went on to open their own shops, including Mark Candela and Zephan Parker.
Four decades of father-to-son bootmaking in Houston.
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.