A radical reimagining of the western boot
- Sarah handcrafts western boots inspired by nature and politics
- Her art practice revolves around feminism and equality
- She takes the iconography of the western boot in a new direction
As a 19-year-old architecture student, Sarah Guerin knew she wanted to become a shoemaker. “I felt it was a calling, an illogical, beautiful, magnificent calling,” she says. Thanks to her architectural design and fine arts education, Sarah’s approach to shoemaking has always been design oriented. After training with a western bootmaker, she opened her first studio in 2015, solely focusing on boots. Sarah is also a committed artist, researching women’s rights, the legacies of inequality in footwear making, and precarity in artist labour. “My boots are pieces of art inspired by the impact of misogyny and male aggression,” she says. Her unique practice combines craftsmanship, creative production, public engagement and education.
INTERVIEW
The client was an antique stove refurbisher and I based the boot design on an 1888 coal stove that he had rebuilt for me. It gave us a creative and meaningful connection. I used cuir bouilli moulding techniques, a reminder of my days in art school.
In my client work, it often comes from nature. For example, the idea of an ivy vine growing up a boot as though it were a building or the feeling of walking knee-deep in a field of tiger lilies. In my personal work, boots are exhibited as art pieces and my inspiration is the aggression of men and the pain that misogyny and the patriarchy cause.
I hold on to construction techniques that honour the enduring legacy of western boots. Their potent iconography offers a canvas on which to tell stories. I am very adept at inlay and overlay techniques with the unusual addition of hand embroidery to my boot tops. My focus is on western side seam construction.
I work very hard to highlight craft as a way of living. It harms craft to think of its value as only transactional: I prefer to value the process it took to make the boot. I take an approach of care and respect. For me, it is about joy and passion honed over time with a dedication to the process.
