Bootmaker
Alan Bell
Alan Bell ran Bell Custom Boots in Abilene, Texas, after training under Tex Robin in nearby Coleman. By the time Texas Monthly profiled him in 2002, Pauline Bell was doing the top stitching in what had become a husband-and-wife shop. The pair was known for stitching that ran both outside and inside the boot vamp, with prices starting around $625 and a roughly one-year wait.
Related: Tex Robin
History
Alan Bell runs Bell Custom Boots in Abilene, Texas. He trained under Tex Robin in Coleman before striking out on his own. Texas Monthly profiled the shop in June 2002, describing a husband-and-wife bench by then, with Pauline Bell doing the top stitching.
The magazine listed a one-year turnaround and prices starting at $625, with leather ranging from tough to soft and signature stitching inside and outside the vamp as the shop's calling cards. Kyle Petty and cowboys from the 6666 and Pitchfork ranches were named as customers, though that is a reputation note rather than a record of specific pairs.
The article's "twenty-five years later" phrase is relative to its own 2002 publication date rather than a fixed founding year, so no incorporation date is given here.
Known for
Signature stitching inside and outside the vamp