Brian C. Thomas

History

Brian C. Thomas grew up in Southern California and worked in a shoe-repair and leather store through his teenage years. He took the two-year program at Oklahoma State Tech in Okmulgee, spent two years making and repairing boots at a Western wear store in Oklahoma, and then apprenticed for five years with Tex Robin in Coleman, Texas. “He does it almost like I do,” Robin told the Abilene Reporter-News. “You probably couldn’t tell the difference between our work.”

Thomas joined the Air Force as he was turning 27, expecting to serve four years, and stayed twenty, retiring on 1 February 2005. When the Abilene Reporter-News profiled him that May, he was making and repairing boots at Brian Thomas Boots on East South 11th Street in Abilene, a shop he had opened the previous November. The 2005 profile says he spent about 200 hours on each pair, took about 11 measurements of each foot, and built up his lasts in layers of leather, with prices from $750. Jennifer June’s later eDirectory lists the shop at $825 a pair with a 22-month wait.

Recognition

On 8 October 2005, at the 17th Annual Boot and Saddlemakers Roundup in Wichita Falls, Thomas won the Professionals’ Choice Award, given for the greatest artistry and craftsmanship. His boot was chosen from about 30 pairs, and Tex Robin was one of the judges.

Sources

• Staci Semrad, “After long military career, area man returns to passion: Handmade boots,” Abilene Reporter-News, 24 May 2005 (posted by Jennifer June)
• Jennifer June, “Award Winning Custom Cowboy Boots,” 6 November 2005
• Jennifer June, eDirectory of Cowboy Bootmakers, companion to Cowboy Boots: The Art & Sole