Lisa Sorrell is a master boot maker with clients throughout the world seeking out her customized cowboy boots. They are drawn to her exquisite, intricate designs and to the quality of her work—and they are willing to ante up a starting price of $10,000 to own a pair of her magnificent boots.
Sorrell’s clients are also willing to fly to her shop in downtown Guthrie, Oklahoma, or to fly her to their locations to have their feet measured and to select a design for the customized footwear she creates. Other shoe makers also turn to her for guidance; when we talked with Sorrell last week, two shoe makers from Europe had flown in to make boots with her.
Customers will do whatever it takes to own a pair of Sorrell’s boots, and she is more than a little accommodating. In fact, when she traveled to a show in Frankfurt, Germany, she was met by a woman who had contacted her about purchasing a pair of boots. “She met me at the airport, and I measured her feet in a restaurant there,” Sorrell says with a laugh.
“Gotta Do My Time”
Sorrell works closely with her clients to design and craft their boots. “I talk to them about colors, and they look through my portfolio for ideas they like; they’re looking at designs and color schemes,” she says. They often choose butterflies and flowers, but they also have ideas of their own. For instance, one customer wanted an image from the “Little Prince” book, while another requested a rendering from “Satan is Real,” the cover of an album by the Louvin Brothers.
Sorrell spares no expense in crafting her world-famous boots. That includes importing kangaroo leather from Italy. She also sells leather tools and supplies to shoemakers around the world, and now also makes shoes with the same toes and feel of a boot.
“Ain’t No California”
Sorrell has earned several awards, including a Gold Medal and Silver Master Cup Award in the luxury shoes category at the 2016 International Efficiency Contest of the Shoemaker’s Trade in Wiesbaden, Germany. In 2020, the Academy of Western Artists named her Boot Maker of the Year, and two years later, a pair of her boots was installed at the Oklahoma State Capitol as part of its permanent art collection.
Sorrell, who is a member of Cowgirl Artists of America, will have her first solo exhibit at the Birthplace of Country Museum in Bristol, Virginia, from October 14 through April 6, 2026. The first weekend of October, she will compete at the Boot and Saddle Makers Roundup in Wichita Falls, Texas.
