Graham Ebner

History

Graham Ebner is a custom bootmaker in East Austin, Texas, who apprenticed for four years at Texas Traditions under Lee Miller before setting out on his own in 2021. In an interview dated 25 April 2019 he described himself as one of four apprentices at the shop, alongside Charlotte Marshall, Dana Perrotti, and Jojo McKibben.

Sources differ on his age and departure date. Equine Info Exchange (4 April 2022, with a later page update) lists him as a 26-year-old "recent, part-time arrival" from the Houston area, still on the Texas Traditions crew, while Texas Monthly (23 August 2024) gives his age as 33, his birthplace as Katy, Texas, and says he apprenticed for four years before going independent in 2021. Both accounts stand rather than being resolved into one.

Texas Monthly describes every inch of his boots as crimped, nailed, pegged, sewed, stitched, stretched, and touched by his own hands; a standard pair takes about 120 hours and a more involved one up to eight weeks. He made his first pair in 2018 for his wife, Ali, and his prices then ran from $6,000 to $9,000. He says he will not put Bible verses, crosses, corporate logos, or sports-team marks on a boot.

Sources

• Graham Ebner interview, The Cowboy Bootmakers, 25 April 2019
• Lynn Ascrizzi, Equine Info Exchange, 4 April 2022
• Lauren Castro, "Meet the Millennial Boot Master Doing It Old-school," Texas Monthly, 23 August 2024
• Austin Chronicle, 20 April 2019 (crew photograph)