08/29/2017
Mike Karnes started building boots in 1977, while working at the LS Ranch in Snook, Texas. A recent Texas A&M graduate, Mike took a job on the ranch, where he met cowboy and amateur bootmaker, Rudolfo Saeñez. Mike likes to joke that Saeñez taught him to build "crap boots out of crap materials", due to their limited resources on the LS. In 2003, Mike decided to convert his dairy barn at his home in Aubrey, Texas into a boot shop. He still had limited resources, including his grandmother's antique Singer sewing machine to sew tops with, and a sawed-off ax handle to hold boots in his lap while he worked on the bottoms. Mike continued to work full-time, spending nights and weekends in the shop, until he decided to leave his "grown up job" and open a second shop in Saint Jo, Texas in 2011. Mike would work Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in Aubrey, then Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays in Saint Jo.
Saint Jo, Texas is also the home of world renowned bootmaker, Carl Chappell. Mike and Carl have been great friends for years, and have worked on many projects together. They teach a Bootmaking School 3 times a year in the Saint Jo shop, as well. (Please contact us for more info on the class). In 2017, Mike sold his home in Aubrey, closed his first shop, and is now working full-time in Saint Jo, Tuesday-Saturday.
Pictured- Mike showing his award in the "Shop Boot" class at the Boot and Saddle Makers Roundup, with daughter Kellie Victory and granddaughter Madi.
