One of my favorite parts of creating new shoes and boots is selecting the leathers. We make a bunch of our boots here in America and I endeavor to use as much American materials as possible in the production—leathers, laces, components.

The American bison, or buffalo, is a storied animal, evoking images of the Wild West. Indeed, President Obama this year made the bison the National Mammal of the US! Growing up, I was fascinated with buffalo head nickels. Getting this leather on some of our boots has been a real treat.

The bison skins have a unique veining that gets accentuated during the tanning process. Unlike embossed leathers—which can also be beautiful—the bison skins’ textures are natural, like an alligator’s. No two pairs are exactly alike. In fact, we take extra care when cutting the uppers to ensure the left and right shoes of a pair are a good match.

We’ve made a limited-edition run of bison chukkas in our classic Beacon. We have black and an amazingly beautiful chestnut. And, for those in cold weather climates, we have a fully shearling lined edition. Enjoy!

Noah