Lisa Shepherd
Ladies 8.5 Moccasins: Horse Hair

$700.00
/
Size
Color

 Made in Canada

Materials: Smoked Moosehide, Beaver Fur, Horse Hair
Foot Lining: Wool
Sole: Moosehide
Size: Ladies 8

Horse Hair Wrapping: A Rare and Nearly Forgotten Art Form

Long before seed beads, and even before embroidery, there was horse hair wrapping. Long strands of tail hair was dyed, wrapped around un-dyed hair and stitched to create border piping on moccasins. An all but forgotten art, horse hair wrapping requires time, patience and a steady hand, but it adds an authentic fine detail that is rarely seen on moccasins today.

This pair of old style pointed toe Metis moccasins combines horse hair wrapping with traditional Metis beadwork, on smoke tanned moose hide. They are trimmed in beaver fur, and ribbon ties echo to the days of the fur trade. Many hours went into these moccasins. From the harvesting of the moose and the beaver, to the women who tanned the hide (a ten day process), to the dying of the horse hair, the beading of the vamps, the designing and stitching of the moccasins and, finally, the wrapping of the horse hair to give this beautiful piped edge. This is the work that is required to keep our old style art alive.

Storyboots are authentically hand-crafted by Indigenous artists.
Artists receive 100% of the proceeds of each sale.

Lisa's Story: Born in Edmonton, Alberta, and now living on the Westcoast of BC, Lisa is a beadwork artist who celebrates her Metis heritage and documents stories through traditional beadwork and contemporary designs. Her beaded garment designs were seen in the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, at the same time that her beaded six-foot Aboriginal Art Bottle titled, “The Awakening” was unveiled by Coca-Cola for the same event. Lisa’s beadwork is a part of the permanent collections of the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives, The Gabriel Dumont Institute Museum and Archives and the Royal Alberta Museum. In 2015, Lisa's beadwork was included in the Venice Biennale as part of Luciano Benetton’s Imago Mundi collective project.  Lisa enjoys bringing traditional teachings and cultural presentations to schools, where she sparks excitement and curiosity about the nature-based art of the Flower Beadwork People.

Photo Credit: In View Images

SBLS11151L08

Size Chart:

Click here to see our sizing guide

Our Vision

Our vision is to build a vibrant, global brand that makes a significant impact in Indigenous communities.

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Our Impact

  • Indigenous Collaboration: Sharing our success with Indigenous artists.
  • Building Capacity: Offering Indigenous employment in meaningful careers.
  • Keeping Indigenous Traditions Alive: Partnering with elders and artisans on a global scale.
  • Indigenous Partnership: Montreal Lake Business Ventures and Métis entrepreneur Sean McCormick are proud equity partners, sharing in Manitobah Mukluks' current and future success.

Art and Sole

Our flexible, durable sole promotes circulation and barefoot-like comfort. Our high-performance Vibram® sole is also the canvas for Indigenous art. The Tipi design was created exclusively for us by indigenous artist Heather Endall.

Manufacturing

Proudly crafting the world’s finest Indigenous-inspired footwear.

At Manitobah, we use high-quality materials and talented artisans to create the best mukluks and moccasins in the world. It takes a lot of time and effort to produce Manitobah footwear and we take great pride in the comfort, function and beauty we create. We also take pride in being Canadian, which is why we continue to produce some collections at our Indigenous-owned production facility in Winnipeg, Canada.

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