our art: STEPHANIE FERGUSON
A Feat of Well-Fitted Feet
A local lady boot maker finds a home at the center of the universe
BY MEL W RHODES
PHOTO BY STEVE SCHILLIO
FEBRUARY 2016
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
S
he’s good with her hands and she
has a keen eye for shapes and colors. She’s an artist to be sure, but her
masterpieces won’t be found on the
wall, rather on the floor — Stephanie
Ferguson is a custom boot maker.
While she grew up in Northeastern Ohio, as the saying goes: “She got
to Texas as soon as she could!” And
now that she’s here, it’s not likely
wild horses could drag her away.
“Texas is beyond fabulous,” she
said. “Texas is the center of the world
… if not the universe!”
Ferguson didn’t just wake up one
morning and decide to leave a “Gone
To Texas” note on the fridge — there
was method to the move, purpose.
After living several places in the
eastern United States and becoming a
certified pedorthist, Ferguson returned
to Ohio to work for a nationally
known O&P (orthotics and plastics)
company. [According to the Internet,
a pedorthist is a “professional who
has specialized training to modify
footwear and employ supportive devices to address conditions which affect the feet and lower limbs.”]
One day during Ferguson’s lunch
break, destiny called.
“The author of The Cowboy Boot
Book called me and said he was
finally getting to put together his second boot book, and he was telling me
that I would be in it, which was like
amazing,” Ferguson said.
The author, Tyler Beard, also
asked her if she was going to be the
only boot maker from Ohio in the
book.
“I said, ‘Well, you know Tyler, I’m
getting tired of driving up and down,
and so is my daughter — tired of
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