Lauw’s passion lies in doing intricate inlay work in boot tops. “For me, the more challenging the better. I like to do multi-layer inlays, which means an inlay inside an inlay. In many cases I have gone 4-5 layers deep,” says Lauw. In spite of his love for inlaying, Duck taught him that “no matter how fancy your work is, no matter how many hours you have in boot tops, if the boots don’t fit the customer, the work was all for naught”. With that said, fit is always first and foremost in Lauw’s mind.
A lot of makers won’t do intricate inlays on a customer’s first pair of boots. Lauw does it because they may be the only pair of custom boots that customer will ever be able to afford, or the only pair they ever intend on buying. “Sometimes an inlayed logo or name carries special meaning for them, so I’ll always do it.”
Dustin Lauw
Dustin Lauw of Salado, Texas is a fourth generation leather worker. He became interested in making boots when he met Duck Menzies, an accomplished bootmaker and then, owner of Boots by Duck in Temple, Texas. Lauw had Menzies make him two pair of boots. Little did he know, he would end up apprenticing with Menzies for 12 years and become an accomplished bootmaker himself.
Duck’s Heritage Cowboy Boots
11095 Brewer Road
Salado, TX 76571
254.681.5300
Instagram: @ducksheritageleather
