Get ready for Boot Camp! More than 30 of the world’s premier shoe- and bootmakers will convene in Chicago this November for an immersive summit created by Stitchdown, an online resource for buyers of quality leather footwear.
The weekend-long event takes place Nov. 6th–9th in various locations around the Windy City. In addition to the main expo—which brings makers from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, England, Italy, Colombia, Spain, and Japan together under one roof at Artifact Events—highlights for attendees include expert demos, panel discussions, hands-on workshops, a tour of the Horween tannery, an after-party, limited-edition product drops, pre-order exclusives, and more. “The ability to really touch and feel a range of exceptional footwear in one place simply can’t be found elsewhere,” says Ben Robinson, founder and editor in chief of Stitchdown.
Boot Camp’s core mission is to help attendees gain a deeper understanding of and appreciation for how handmade leather boots and shoes are crafted. Hence, materials and process will be showcased in interactive displays every bit as much as finished products, says Robinson.
The fact that exhibiting brands produce items of exceptional quality is a point of pride for Stitchdown—and a selling point for attendees. Many of the featured brands make their products almost completely by hand. Others use 300-year-old techniques. Stitchdown calculates that collectively the exhibitors have been operating for more than 1,000 years.
“Boot Camp exhibiting brands are legitimately the best in the world at what they do,” Robinson says. “If a retailer or wholesaler is seeking true quality products and wants to help their staff understand what that means and to translate it to customers, there is no better educational opportunity across a range of brands, styles, and construction types than Boot Camp.”
This fall marks the third iteration of the expo, which held its first two fairs in Brooklyn before moving to Chicago this fall. “The Midwest concentration of footwear manufacturers and leather tanneries remains a powerful beacon for the industry, and one we can draw on readily for the expo and hide trade show,” Robinson explains.
And then, of course, there’s Windy City stalwart Horween, one of “the most important and iconic tanneries in the world,” Robinson says. “To have Horween continuing to operate within Chicago city limits for 120 years is just a remarkable and rare thing. Their story truly helps us tell the story of the entire tanning and quality footwear industry—a story of longevity, commitment, perseverance, and melding modern progress with age-old techniques and approaches.” Robinson likens tours for VIPs during the expo to “getting the golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s factory.”
Additional highlights include exclusive Stitchdown collaborative boots from Addict Boots, Boot Camp’s first Japanese exhibitor; the fair’s first Indonesian exhibitor, Renav Goods Co.; cowboy bootmaker Lisa Sorrell’s Sorrell Notions and Findings; Boot Camp mainstay Nicks Handmade Boots from Spokane; and Wisconsin icon Russell Moccasin; among others.
“And we’re massively excited to have Red Wing Heritage and their tannery, SB Foot, exhibiting for the first time,” says Robinson. “Without Red Wing doing what it’s done for 120 years in Minnesota, the rest of the footwear at the show might not exist—and the same holds true for the community that loves it. To honor that legacy for Red Wing is a huge point of pride for us.”
Tickets for the event start at $20. To purchase, go to: www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/buy-tickets. The full schedule and updated details, visit www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/.
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