At 21 years old, Colin Wintz looked through a shop window in his hometown of Spokane, Washington and was captivated by the sight and intricate process of a shoe being made.
Fifteen years later, after completing an art degree, working in the wardrobe department for multiple theatre companies and doing a practicum in shoemaking at the Banff Centre, Wintz now owns his own bootmaking business, Wintz Boots. The local bootmaker creates custom leather boots from scratch in styles such as classic cowboy, packer boots and Wellington boots.
Wintz is a one-man operation, a feat he says can be grueling but worth it.
“It’s rewarding for me because I get to work with [clients] that want to support me,” says Wintz. “I get to realize someone else’s dream but also make something that is completely unique to them.”
The bootmaking process can take Wintz anywhere from two to four months, which includes meeting with clients and discussing their vision, creating a design, ordering the leathers they choose and crafting the boots. It takes anywhere from 40 to 80 hours of labour just to actually make a pair of boots.
Wintz works full-time as a breakdown artist (taking pristine costumes and doing things like distressing or dyeing them to make them look more authentic) for theatre companies in Calgary. But his goal is to keep expanding his bootmaking passion project and make time for more clients.
“I’m still trying to get my name out there,” says Wintz. “I see that there is an interest and that people are into the idea of having something made locally or using materials that they’ve selected.”
