Western Boot Making Apprenticeship

(2022)

About the Film

Although once ubiquitous, the art and craft of making footwear by hand is a craft that’s practiced by very few people in Massachusetts today. Its survival relies on knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques being passed on directly through apprenticeships. This film captures how Sarah Madeleine Tierney Guerin persevered in becoming a handmade bootmaker and is passing on the tradition by mentoring Diana Wagner, who is writing an illustrated manual from the perspective of one learning the craft.