Caswell's Kevin Wilson on How to Start a One-Man Boot Brand—and Bringing Back US Manufacturing

The Stitchdown Shoecast

“The only way I learned was making many mistakes and losing a shit ton of money in the process” is how Kevin Wilson neatly sums up the never-simple process of getting Caswell Boot Company off the ground.
In the past five years since saying "I'm going to start a boot company!", Kevin's stared down a failed Kickstarter attempt, his original US-based factory shutting down, patterns gone missing, rising costs in every possible area, and all the general fickleness that comes standard with manufacturing high-quality footwear.
But Kevin has found a truly powerful audience while building a brand that does things a bit differently, especially in terms of custom options, a hugely impressive leather array, and manufacturing in four different countries—including, soon, the US again.
We break down Caswell's different lines and how he manages to cohere them together, the bevy of mistakes he made along the way, an entirely new brand he's been plotting for a bit, and what inspired him a half-decade ago to say “a regular person can do this.”
Caswell's website: https://www.caswellbootco.com/
This episode was sponsored by Nicks Boots
Theme Song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera

Come to Stitchdown's Boot Camp, the world's fair of shoes and boots and leather and more in Brooklyn this Oct 12-13, 2024.
https://www.stitchdownbootcamp.com/
Support the Shoecast and join the most interesting shoe-and-boot-loving community on the internet with a Stitchdown Premium membership
https://www.stitchdown.com/join-stitchdown-premium/