Shari Jenkins' boots actually aren't made for walking.
They are made for wearing, though — over the shoulder.
The 71-year-old handstitches cowboy-boot purses out of vintage kickers.
"That was the original cowboy idea," says Jenkins, who started a swim school and flower shop on the East Side back in 1968. "They took their old boots and cut 'em off, sewed them and then slung them over the saddle horn to hold coffee or whatever. This is not an original idea."
Maybe not, but it is Jenkins' all-consuming hobby. That, coupled with regular tennis games, keeps her busy.
Custom Boot Purses by Shari began four years ago when she made some for a family reunion. By the following year, friends were snapping them up, and the Tanque Verde Ranch bought some to sell in its gift shop.
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Small purses go for $55 to $95, while larger bags — made from two boots, for those of us who have more, um, stuff to schlep around — are $250. Silver-tipped woven leather makes up the purse straps, and silver or silver and gold conchos decorate the bags.
Jenkins — who sewed and sold micro-miniskirts and bikinis in Malibu in the '60s — can whip together a small bag from a single boot in a few hours. The larger, double-boot bags can take up to eight hours.
Jenkins doesn't have time to scour thrift shops. Instead, she has vintage boot suppliers who keep her supplied with her favorites, Lucchese and Larry Mahan.
"I'm picky about what kind of boots I work on," she said.
While people, mostly tourists, love the boot bags as a Western souvenir, Jenkins also gets requests for keepsakes.
"These boots that I have in front of me right now came from Colorado; they belonged to a gal's father," she said. The father died, and now Jenkins is making boot purses for his two girls.
Though black bags tend to be her biggest seller, Jenkins has quite a color range — blue, yellow, purple, green.
"When I was in real estate, we used to say there's a customer for every house," said Jenkins. Same holds true for boot purses, apparently. "Someone will come along and say, 'Oh, I love this color.'
Custom Boot Purses By Shari
You can find Shari Jenkins and her boot bags 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays at Plaza Palomino's Farmers Market at East Fort Lowell and North Swan roads. Or, call 444-8787. Her Web site is artofarizona.com/bootpurse.htm
