A quiet county road in Colorado, gravel crunching under the tires, and a garden that looks like someone let their imagination run loose. That is where I found myself after hearing you could drive fifteen minutes outside of town and come home wearing shoes you built with your own two hands.
I nearly laughed out loud at how simple it sounded. Then I pulled up to a property scattered with sculptures and workshops, and I knew I had the right place.
Inside, sewing machines hum and the smell of leather hangs in the air, and somehow a flat piece of hide starts turning into a sneaker. The couple who runs it started the school in their own backyard and now offer classes ranging from a single day to five days, teaching everything from simple slip-ons to elaborate high-top sneakers and boots…