Around Christmastime more than a decade ago, Tucsonan Shari Jenkins found herself in a Joann Fabrics and Crafts store searching for felt to make holiday stockings for her family.
“When I went to get the felt, I saw this woman with this boot purse on her shoulder,” she said. “It didn’t have a long strap, but I said, ‘I can do that.’”
Jenkins cut up a pair of her own boots and turned it into a purse — and sometime around 2007, Custom Boot Purses by Shari was born.
All of Shari Jenkins’ boot bags are made with cowboy boots.
Jenkins now hand-makes crossbody boot bags from cowboy boots, selling them in Tucson and through an international website in London. Crossbody bags have a long strap, allowing people to drape the bag across their body.
“They fit Tucson. It fits well,” Jenkins said about the choice to use cowboy boots specifically. Plus, she likes the designs printed or embroidered on them.
Not having the time to scavenge through items at thrift shops, Jenkins finds a lot of the boots she crafts with on eBay. She said the site allows her to examine them and determine what kind of condition they’re in prior to purchasing. She also searches for specific brands and colors.
The bags feature a braided bolo strap, plus added decorations such as tassels.
After receiving the boots, cutting them, measuring them, punching holes, hand-lacing them, adding the strap and many more in-between steps, Jenkins is able to have a single purse finished in about 2½ hours. Larger bags take longer to make.
Jenkins said she became interested in crafting when she was young.
Jenkins, left, cut up a pair of her own boots and turned it into a purse — and sometime around 2007, Custom Boot Purses by Shari was born.
“We lived in Santa Monica and my mother had a shop — it was kind of a children’s shop and she made mother-daughter outfits and first communion dresses,” Jenkins said. “She was very talented at sewing and used to make all my clothes.
“The shop was near where I went to junior high, so after school I would walk down and poke around and pick up scraps and make little things.”
