As Peter Limmer looks on, Adam Lane-Olsen measures New Hampshire Fish & Game Conservation Officer James Benvenuti’s foot to begin the process of creating a custom-made pair of boots.
the company in the 1990s, having the Limmer name gave him no divine wisdom—he was simply a steward of the family business. Like Adam today, he faced challenging decisions about how to run the shop and maintain the company’s reputation. Peter also emphasized that close friendship can be nearly as valuable as family. Thinking back on his years working with Adam, he said, “I’ve always considered Adam and I to be twin brothers by different parents.” Since passing the reins, Peter has continued working for the shop part-time. His primary role is die-cutting the boots’ outer leather “uppers,” a particularly skilled part of the process.
Since taking ownership, Adam has changed very little about the company, or the Limmer boot itself. Nevertheless, he has taken some new initiatives, which he hopes will strengthen their professional standing and bring new customers to their door. In October of 2024, Adam, Annie, and Patrick traveled to New York City to attend a professional conference of leather footwear-mak ers, known as Boot Camp. Located in the heart of the bustling waterfront district of Brooklyn, the conference convened some of the most prestigious bootmakers from across the country. Peter Limmer & Sons is very well established in its trade (after a century of making respected hiking boots), and yet the team felt like underdogs when they arrived at Boot Camp. Historically, “Limmers” have been well known within the New England hiking community, but often not beyond it. Further more, while most of the attending vendors made fashion-orient ed footwear, Limmer boots were unique as practical footwear designed to withstand punishing terrain. For these reasons, they weren’t sure what to expect. In the face of uncertainty, the Limmer crew did their best to import the Intervale shop’s rustic charm to their designated conference space. They set up a wooden workbench, displayed tools of the trade, and lay down saw dust on the floor. As people walked by their diorama, Annie remembered feeling a newfound confidence as they pitched their product to prospective cus tomers. Boot Camp, she said, “was the first time I described our boots to people as tools.” Intrigued, people lined up to have their measurements taken, and to order boots. Adam said that while many attendees had heard of Limmers, it was “a revelation for some folks to actually have our product in their hand and feel the substantialness of it.” Ultimately, they were well received at Boot Camp by fellow proprietors and customers alike. There is a certain irony in the idea that Peter Limmer & Sons was new to the conference, given that the company was estab lished at a time when handmade footwear was the status quo.
To those who craft Limmers, the boot represents something more than merely a commercial product. Whereas much of the clothing industry today is defined by “fast-fashion,” where a product’s expendability is seen as a virtue, Limmer boots amount to something distinctly different. The value of a Limmer comes precisely from its slow-changing and resilient design. Adam and his employees often remind prospective customers of the prac ticality of buying their product, which will long outlive a modern hiking shoe. And beyond the economic value of the boot, they tout the organic relationship between Limmer-makers and their customers, which promotes a tradition of mutual care.
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