Roundy Cowboy Boots – Making Utah’s Finest Leather Footwear
“In a good part of this country, you’ll find people in Wrangler jeans and boots every day … Boots are just nice to wear.” —Don Roundy
Toquerville is a central Utah town known for its fruit, grapes and alfalfa hydrated from the pure water of its nearby springs. In order to be on the farms all day, a quality pair of boots comes in handy. Thankfully, Toquerville is also home to Roundy Boots, Utah’s finest custom leather boots.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re in Salt Lake City, Utah or Jiggs, Nevada, there’s always people that wear boots as a utility, a tool they need to have,” said Don Roundy, shoemaker and owner of Roundy Boots. “Of course, anybody that wants to be a cowboy can wear them. Boots are just what some people wear. Some people only spend on them once in their life, and then there’s people that can’t stop ordering from me.”
Don’s devotion to bootmaking started over 40 years ago in the small town of Alpine, Utah. The only business at the time was a shoe repair shop. Don accepted a job there and fell in love with the art of shoemaking. “My dad was a cowboy, and my mom was an artist, so I’m the best of both worlds, a bootmaker,” Don explained. “I write cowboy poetry too, on the side. Even though I’m not a cowboy, it still fits my bootmaking life.”
Whatever a client envisions, Don can create it. Some clients will bring in a picture and others will describe in words what they want and Don will sketch it out. “I’ve done it for so long that there’s nothing that bothers me,” Don said. “I’ve got it all figured out. Sometimes, I’ll be designing or sewing and I’ll think, ‘I’m just enjoying myself and I’m going to get paid for it.”
His method is a bit different from other shops, as Don will geometrically make all the parts of the boot, starting with the vamp (foot part), then the counter (back of the vamp), then working up to the leg that connects it all. “If the pattern is right, then everything is right,” Don said. “It’s just sweet, it all falls together, the leather lays on like paint, it’s fun.” To give each pair the attention it deserves, Don creates about one pair a week. He also creates footwear beyond boots, though the cowboy boot is still his favorite.
In addition to making footwear, he teaches aspiring shoemakers. Since he’s the only one of his kind in the state, people come from all over to learn from him. And if his name sounds familiar, you may remember him from the five years he taught his geometric pattern tactics at the Salt Lake Community College.
During his career, Don has made hundreds of pairs of boots, to the point where he can recognize if a boot was made by him just by looking at it. Don joked, “People will bring boots in for repair and I’ll recognize that I created the boot, so I will tell them the boot is nicely made. They respond, ‘It should be because you made it for me’.”
“I just love what I do,” he exclaimed. “My brother and I were chatting about retirement life. He asked me what I’d do once I retired and my response was, well, I’d probably sleep for a week then go right back to work!” This love and passion can be felt in every pair of Roundy Boots. If you’re a boot lover, reach out to Don and order yourself these one-of-a-kind treasures.
