Tex Robin (1939-2023) was a custom bootmaker based in Coleman and later Abilene, Texas, known for artistic boot tops featuring prickly pear cactus stitching, brilliant coloring, and trademark butterfly and eagle inlays. The shop he inherited from his father has been in operation since 1944.
Tex Robin in his boot shop. Photo via Coleman Today (September 17, 2023). Newspaper/family copyright; used for editorial reference.
Biography
Tex Lanear Robin was born September 12, 1939, in Goree, Texas, to Waymon L. Robin and Edna Evelyn James. His father, also called Tex, learned bootmaking while repairing boots on the rodeo circuit in the 1930s and opened Tex Robin Boots in 1944. The younger Tex began working in his father's shop in Throckmorton, Texas, at age 10 and learned to build a complete boot at his father's side during the 1950s. He went on to run the one-man shop for more than 50 years, first in Coleman and later in Abilene.
Robin served in the United States Army. On December 30, 1960, he married Margaret Elizabeth Anderson; the marriage lasted 62 years. He was a member of Northside Baptist Church in Abilene and a lifetime NRA member.
Texas Monthly included Robin on its list of 25 top custom bootmakers, noting his specialization in artistic tops with eclectic stitching -- prickly pear cactus spines, brilliant coloring, and trademark butterflies and eagles. The magazine listed Governor Rick Perry and gambler Benny Binion among his clients. At the time of that listing, boots started at $695 with a one-year turnaround.
Robin entered the Boot and Saddlemakers' Roundup boot contest in Wichita Falls and received many awards for his artistry. He was featured on television, in magazine articles, and in Jennifer June's 2007 book Cowboy Boots: The Art & Sole, for which June spent a month at his Coleman shop making two pairs of boots under his guidance.
In his late 50s, Robin traced his Swedish heritage, taught himself to speak Swedish, and traveled to Sweden to meet relatives.
Several bootmakers trained under Robin. Alan Bell apprenticed with him in Coleman before opening Bell Custom Made Boots in 1977; a pair Bell made in 1976 while working for Robin was selected to represent custom Texas bootmakers in the Handmade and Heartfelt: Contemporary Folk Art in Texas traveling exhibit during the state's 1986-1987 sesquicentennial. Brian C. Thomas also served a five-year apprenticeship under Robin in Coleman. Robin's grandson, Justin T. Walker, continued the Tex Robin Boots name in Abilene after learning the trade directly from his grandfather.
Tex Robin died September 15, 2023, in Abilene, three days after his 84th birthday. He was buried at the Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Abilene.
Why He Matters
- Robin ran one of the longest-operating one-man custom boot shops in Texas, carrying forward a family tradition that began in 1944.
- His artistic stitching style -- cactus, butterflies, eagles -- influenced a generation of West Texas bootmakers who trained under him.
- He demonstrated that a small-town, single-craftsman operation could build a national reputation through quality and artistry alone.