Designer Download: Helm Handmade

HELM Handmade has not yet celebrated its one-year anniversary but is already coveted by such notable names as Robert Downey Jr., Matthew McConaughey and Andy Roddick. The custom boot line is the realization of a lifetime passion for founder Joshua Bingaman. Designed in Austin Texas, handmade in Istanbul, with leather from Holland and Australia, and soles from Italy and France, HELM has reinvented iconic footwear for men with the addition of unique details, impeccable materials and a commitment to comfort.

It’s hard to believe there’s no sticker shock accompanying such a thoughtful and involved design process, which brings us back to Bingham, a man who shuns exclusivity and pretention and instead cites family (HELM is his son Samuel’s middle name), friends (they serve as models for his lookbooks) and music (he has recorded several albums and is an avid collector) as his most treasured sources of inspiration. A devoted supporter of local artists and small businesses, he presently credits the art and jewelry of Alyson Fox, the fashion and music of Scott Hansen and the art of his son (“he uses a lot of black and I like that”) as his creative muses.

We caught up with the contagiously energetic Bingaman on the heels of HELM’s Lafayette House party in New York and just before he begins three exciting collaborations with Dunderdon, Raleigh Denim and jewelry designer Brian Crumley. We talked to Bingaman about his path from Oklahoma to San Francisco to Austin, Texas, and along the way we were treated to an unedited peek at his self-described “huge” eBay watch list.

The Inside Source: There are a variety of influences in your designs: workwear, military, cowboy and perhaps a little southern gentleman. How would you summerize the Helm design sensibility/style influence?

Joshua Bingaman: I've always had a lot of shoes. I've always been acutely aware of what is on people's feet. When my brother and I started the Shoe Room in San Francisco, I started getting into boots. Cowboy boots, Red Wings, Vasque hiking boots, CAT, Sendra, Wolverine, the whole bag. I started collecting older vintage styles and really got into the history of them. I only wore boots for a long time and still do, but it gets so damn hot in Austin that sometimes the heavy Euro rugged Red Wing or the Luchesse cowboy boot is almost unbearable. So in steps HELM (no pun intended). A lightweight, breathable, insanely comfortable handmade boot that's an amalgam of all of my favorite styles.

TIS: Your shoes are handmade in Istanbul. Is there a personal connection or something intrinsic to their particular process that is significant to you?

JB: I visited Istanbul in 1997 and having traveled to many other countries, something there pulled my heart. My brother had multiple friends there from travels and religious studies. My mother’s best friend Kay, ”Aunt Kay” as I called her though the years, moved to Istanbul over 9 years ago. She has done extensive work in textiles and has many close connections there personally and in business. So this last time I visited her, with HELM in mind, I made it my primary goal to witness the handmade leather footwear process. It blew me away. Not unlike the culture and history there, the handmade footwear market is beautiful and amazing and untapped. And now here we are.

TIS: You relocated to Austin seven years ago and opened the still booming Progress Coffee, recently cited by Bon Appétit as one of the ten best boutique coffee shops in the country. Why Austin?

JB: My wife and I visited Austin to scout for a possible franchise location for the store my brother and I started in San Francisco ten years ago called the Subterranean Shoe Room. We fell in love with the city in that one visit and moved here. My brother and I decided not to open a Shoe Room here and he bought me out. I started Progress Coffee soon after the move and now HELM.

TIS: Is it true that you name your boots and shoes after friends, family and other influential characters in your life?

JB: YES! I love to keep it personal. I love stories behind designs and objects. I am always so drawn to and intrigued by the personal stories and lives behind artists, musicians, authors, actors, etc. The stories behind certain public figures can be really inspiring and beneficial to the working class heroes of the world. Salt of the earth folk have the same families and hearts and breath the same air. We are all human and we all have limitations and struggles and battles and victories and sharing those is how I have survived and how I get by.

TIS: What of your childhood in Oklahoma shaped who you are today?

JB: In Oklahoma it was sometimes hard to be a "creative" type as there was not a whole lot of culture happening, especially ten or twenty years ago. So those of us that were skaters and "punks" and artists and musicians were really tight and connected. All my old friends are still friends to this day and we're all over the nation doing totally different but amazing things in graphics, film, photography, music, fashion etc. There's also a strong religious weight there that influenced and continues to influence much of the youth and shape their spirituality. I grew up attending a strict private school where your belt had to match your shoes and that was always so militaristic to me. Same as the short haircuts, etc. Lately I’m loving HELM’s white “Dapper” belt. I wear it completely mismatched with brown or black. Looking back on those private school days, I see why it is that I wear this white belt so much now and also why I've had such long hair for fifteen+ years.

TIS: Besides friends and family is there someone you return to for inspiration time and time again?

JB: Neil Young rules! My wife and I saw him play a couple months ago here in Austin—a solo show that was amazing. I always love looking back at his style right after Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, his period playing with Crazy Horse and following that when he went solo. I am strongly influenced by classic films with Marlon Brando ("Streetcar" or "Waterfront"), James Dean ("Giant" or "Rebel") and Paul Newman ("HUD"!!) as well as all the old photos and record covers I have of Chet Baker. Whenever I re-watch movies like "West Side Story," "The Outsiders," "Rumble Fish" or "Lost Boys," I find myself influenced by that "rebellious gang attire" from those times. Denim, solid colored tee shirts, solid colored boots, sneakers or dress shoes. Simple. I Love it.

TIS: You are married with two small children, Samuel Helm, almost 3, and Ruth Marian, just 4 and ½ months. Any plans for a children’s and/or women’s line?

JB: YES! We already size HELM down to a 38 so it's "unisex" per female demand but we're also in the process of sizing it down smaller to a 35/36. Right now, finding the molds and lasts to match the designs is proving difficult so it will be one or two styles at a time. If the women's line does pick up and start happening I'll be naming it MARIAN (daughter Ruth’s middle name) since the Men’s line is HELM, Samuel’s middle name.

I'm actually working with one of my favorite brands, DUNDERDON, right now on a female HELM boot that should prove a winner! I’m super excited about that collaboration.

Roll over items for details

1967 Fender Deluxe Reverb Amp

Bingham loves his Fender twin deluxe reverb amp given to him from his pal, musician Amy Cook. He says, he doesn’t know how old it is but “the tubes give it a warm deep sound that only it can make.”

(buy it now price, $795)

NEW Puma Roma Boot

(buy it now price, $67.99)

NEW Turquoise Ring

(buy it now price, $66)

NEW "HUD" Poster

(buy it now price, $6.99)

Vintage Tiger Eye Tie Clasp

(buy it now price, $18.75)

Neil Young Poster

A longtime Neil young fan, Bingham says, “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" on vinyl takes me to really creative and encouraging spaces. It gives me energy and hope. The way it closes with "Cowgirl in the Sand" is so, so good.”

(buy it now price, $12)

1972 Chevrolet El Camino

Bingham lovingly calls his 1978 GMC Truck “Francine.” We can't help but wonder what he would name this cool El Camino.

(current bid, $11,000)

Vintage Gucci Sunglasses

(buy it now price, $89)

Brass Boot/Paperweight

This bronze paperweight isn’t nearly as cool as Bingham’s treasured Bronzed Boot, which serves as the hood ornament of his vintage truck.

(buy it now price, $0.99)

Chet Baker “Chet”

(buy it now price, $12.98)

Tycho 12” Vinyl Coastal Brake

(buy it now price, $34.99)

NEW Horsehair Bracelet

Bingham’s brother Kyle gave him a horsehair bracelet from Colorado. Joshua says,” I cant take it off. The earth tones of brown and taupe and black combined with the fact that it came from such a strong animal is really cool.

(buy it now price, $7.95)

** Images provided by HELM. **