Good Morning Sabah People,
In our El Paso, Texas workshop, some of our most intricate and hard-to-make styles come to life — entirely by hand, and in very small batches every month.
We chose to open our workshop, a place we designed & built from the ground up, in El Paso nearly 5 years ago. It is a city with a long tradition of leatherwork, where the craft of boot & saddle-making has been passed down for generations, much like Gaziantep - the other heart of our production. That heritage, and the generational talent we found there, is what drew us in.
We designed our El Paso workshop as a space for creativity, innovation and pushing our craft further. Because of that, production is intentionally made in limited runs and small batches — ensuring each pair carries the care, character, and attention to detail that define our most collectible work.
As the final step in the process, each of these pairs is marked with its Month and Year of Production. A simple detail, done by hand, that becomes part of the shoe itself — a lasting reminder of where it was made, when it was made, and the hands that brought it to life.
Scroll on to read more about our team -- the faces & the hands that make your pairs in El Paso. Enjoy!
Sincerely,
The Sabah Dealer
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The thing about handcraft that struck me most the first time I stepped into a workshop wasn’t just the process - it was the people. Their stories. The way their craft had been passed down through generations. The pride in every step, and the deep respect for the final product.
With that in mind, we’d like to reintroduce you to some of the talented shoemakers behind our El Paso workshop: the hands and personalities helping bring our woven Babas and Bolos to life, one pair at a time.
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León native, Richard, is the General Manager of our Sabah workshop in El Paso, overseeing every step of production and, through his relentless pursuit of quality, ensuring every pair we ship meets our standards.
Born into a family of master toolers and bootmakers, Richard grew up surrounded by the traditions of shoemaking from an early age. More than twenty years ago, he moved his family to El Paso to start his own shoemaking business; bringing with him generations of knowledge, craftsmanship, and pride in the work.
Richard was the very first person to join our El Paso team, and he has been instrumental in shaping every step of the workshop ever since. From pattern making to finishing touches, his eye, experience, and standards are felt in every pair that leaves the workshop.
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Meet Brenda. Before joining Sabah, she spent several years honing her craft at one of El Paso’s premier bootmakers. She joined our workshop with a desire to expand her skills and work across more parts of the shoemaking process — something that’s become central to how we operate.
On any given day, you might find Brenda behind a sewing machine, hand-lasting a pair, or carefully overseeing our quality control process with remarkable precision and care. Her versatility, attention to detail, and pride in the work are felt in every pair that passes through her hands.
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Since childhood, Roberto has been crafting western-style boots — a skill honed through years of consistency, patience, and practice. With an almost instinctive precision, he can build an exquisitely constructed boot from start to finish without ever seeming to lift his eyes from the work.
At Sabah, Roberto serves as a second-hand laster, helping guide each pair through one of the most intensive and important stages of the shoemaking process. It’s meticulous work that demands strength, rhythm, and feel — and Roberto does it with the confidence of someone who has spent a lifetime at the bench.
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Ricardo started working as an apprentice shoe maker at thirteen and has been working in the industry ever since. He’s opened his own factories, worked for other prestigious footwear manufacturers and ultimately has found himself settled in El Paso near his kids, working as our master stitcher at the Sabah workshop, often called upon to teach some of our apprentices various aspects of the craft.
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Byron joined our workshop having never made a pair of shoes before. Part of the idea behind our El Paso operation is to train & teach a new generation of shoemakers. Byron has been with us since almost day one, now proficient in a variety of skills from running the McKay stitcher to leather cutting & upper constructions.
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No pair leaves El Paso without passing through Jesus’ hands. As our master hand-laster, he shapes each pair with a rare balance of strength and finesse — carefully pulling the leather over the last to give our Bolos and Babas their distinctive form.
A proud shoemaker through and through, Jesus learned the trade from his father and has spent decades refining his craft. Hand-lasting is among the most demanding steps in shoemaking, requiring instinct, precision, and feel as much as technique. Quite simply, he’s one of the greatest lasters we’ve ever met.
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Daniel joined our workshop almost from day one, a total novice to the craft but eager to learn. Ambitious and a quick learner, today - he runs the McKay stitchers, preps & applies outsoles, and can generally navigate through most of the process.
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Proudly Handmade in El Paso. |
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Our newest Bolo, made of soft Italian suedes with hand-stained soles, is coming soon...
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