Bootmaker
Edie Kudlis
Edie Kudlis is a bootmaker working as Old Bitchin Cat Boots in Brooklyn, New York. She came to the craft as an adult in the late 2000s, first training with Dave 'Hutch' Hutchings in Colorado, and calls Lee Miller of Texas Traditions her strongest influence through annual visits focused on lasts, patterns, heels, and welting.
Known for
Old Bitchin Cat Boots, Brooklyn; studies yearly with Lee Miller
Related: Lee Miller · Texas Traditions
Biography
History
Edie Kudlis is a bootmaker in Brooklyn, New York, working as Old Bitchin Cat Boots. In a 2019 interview she described growing up in Brooklyn, wearing boots to James Madison High School, giving them up after being mocked, and returning to the craft as an adult in the late 2000s after a Texan in a Houston bar dismissed her Italian shoes as the mark of a tourist.
Her first class was with Dave ‘Hutch’ Hutchings in Parker, Colorado — a maker who had learned as a kid, worked in shops (including as a Marine), run his own shops, and taught students. She later studied with Jim Brainard, Luis Jovel of Fresno, and Bill Niemczyk of Wild Bill's Custom Boots in Granby, Connecticut. She calls Lee Miller of Texas Traditions her strongest influence, through annual visits spent studying lasts, patterns, heels, and welting.
Sources
Identification and markings
Maker-specific markings guidance has not been documented yet. Preserve the complete stamp and compare it against dated sources.
Sources and references
Historical references are cited with the history above. Each catalog record includes its own supporting evidence.
Encyclopedia references: CowboyBootsDB and maker archives linked where available. Historical dates and attributions can vary by source.