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The Stitchdown Shoecast
Jess Wootten on Making Boots in an Australian Gold Rush Town, and Blake Rapid Misconceptions
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This episode's chat is with Jess Wootten of…Wootten! The Ballarat, Australia boots and shoes and leathergoods maker that is doing some very interesting work.
We covered how Jess somewhat tripped into a family tradition of bootmaking, ran down what Wootten's making in Ballarat and how, some common misconceptions about the Blake/Rapid (aka McKay welted) construction that Wootten often deploys, what it's like to grow a boutique bootmaking operation (not easy!), why Australians are possibly overly obsessed with Chelsea boots, and plenty more.
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We'd better see you at Stitchdown Chicago 2026—the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more—Nov 6-7 at Artifact Events.
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