By Amy Roberts
For almost 150 years, Burns Cowboy Shop has prided itself on using the highest quality leather to create heirloom quality saddles, hats and belts. Burns, the oldest family-owned Western retail business in the world, honors its own family legacy by continuing to craft exquisite products designed with the next generation in mind. “We don’t just sell saddles, we provide a family legacy,” says Braydan Shaw. “Our products are often passed down from generation to generation.”
Recently Burns expanded its family treasures portfolio by acquiring the nearly 100-year- old silver company, Sunset Trails Silversmith. “Sunset Trails began making belt buckles and saddle silver in the early 1920s. Burns didn’t just buy a silver jewelry business, it bought a legacy,” says Shaw, himself a sixth-generation owner of Burns. “That was right when the movies, especially Westerns, became popular and the demand for authentic Western wear was born. Now, nearly a century later, the style and the demand for it have only increased.”
In fact, some say actor and cowboy Roy Rogers helped launch the popularity of adorned saddles and cowboy bling. His intricate and frequently photographed saddle, which ultimately became his calling card, went down in history as one of the highest priced ever sold. It brought in over $410,000 when Roger’s estate was disbursed. One of the first-generation owners of what would later become Sunset Trails Silversmith, John McCabe, designed that famous saddle.
Burns Cowboy Shop now offers nearly the entire collection of Sunset Trails’ sterling silver and gold belt buckles, which are manufactured in Salina, Utah. Bolos, tie slides, saddle trimmings and conchos are also hand-crafted in Salina and sold in the company’s Park City store. “From presidents to rock stars,from cowboys to movie moguls, from Lubbock to Wall Street, people everywhere and from all walks of life wear Sunset Trails,” Shaw noted. “It’s such a natural fit for these quality silver and gold items to now be part of the Burns brand.”
In addition to custom products, Burns Cowboy Shop offers just about everything for horse and rider. From cowboy boots to pure beaver hats, at Burns you can find everything you need to ride off into the sunset — except, of course, a horse.
363 Main St in Park City
burns1876.com
