Visit Stitchdown’s Boot Camp Featuring The Windup Watch Shop In October

“In a world of disposable footwear, there’s something truly special about handmade boots and shoes,” says Stitchdown founder Ben Robinson. “When you begin to understand how they’re made, often with timeless processes, that’s when the light bulb really starts to go off. It’s taken well over a year to gather up the group of makers we have in place and we couldn’t be more excited to have them share their craft with our guests.” 

Sitchdown is an independently owned, passion-driven media company devoted to cultivating community via a shared love of fantastic leather footwear. Stitchdown founder Ben Robinson, a former sneakerhead, woke up one morning unable to walk. A stress fracture diagnosis was quickly attributed to his regular wearing of sneakers with zero support. Followed by four brutal winter months in a medical walking boot, Robinson decided to use his journalism expertise (as the former Editor in Chief of the New York Observer and Chief Creative Officer of Thrillist) into creating Stitchdown, a one-stop resource for all things quality footwear. Now five years later, the launch of Boot Camp serves as a celebration of the greater industry’s enduring craftsmanship and the chance to bring the community’s most passionate devotees together in one place.

The summit will also feature live hand-welted shoemaking demos—which attendees can try their hand at—from Northampton England’s E. Woodford, an on-site workbench space with Brooklyn’s own bespoke shoemaker Francis Waplinger, a lineup of live industry panels, and hand-painted patina art occurring live and on display from Perera. Don’t miss out on the Super Sample Sale, headlined by Canadian superbrand Viberg, of seriously discounted samples, seconds, deadstock, and more. 

This type of bootmaking is the opposite of mass production—with many of the featured Boot Camp brands making their products almost completely by hand, while others use 300+ year old techniques. Boot Camp’s lineup have been operating for over a collective 1,000 years, a truly rare meeting ground for some of the world’s most revered boot brands. All the footwear found at Boot Camp will be made 90+% of leather, and be both resoleable and fully rebuildable, offering the ability to last literal decades when taken care of properly—something hugely beneficial from an environmental perspective in a world of disposable synthetic footwear. 

The weekend wouldn’t be complete without an array of fantastic food from the Industry City food hall, an exclusive barrel-aged stout collaboration with Untitled Art brewery, complimentary Smartwater for all, a full coffee bar, opening night celebrations, and an after wrap party at Big Alice Brewing presented by Thursday Boots. 

Tickets (1 Day GA, 2 Day GA, 2 Day VIP) for the event start at just $29.99 and are available now. As a Worn & Wound reader, you can save 30% on general admission tickets with the code WINDUP. For the most up to date details, visit https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/ or follow @stitchdownbootcamp on social media. See you at Boot Camp!