Back in the early 1980's, my husband and I bought a couple of beautiful custom belts from a man named T.R. Walters. They had fine carving, rolled edges with silver lacing, lining, rawhide lacing, and inlays. The belts didn't lay flat due to the silver lacing...you had to put them on keeping them curved, and he stamped the initials TR on the buckle end. He lived near Powell Texas, east of Corsicana, and his wife Debi was a horse trainer at Manx Arabian Farm (where I also worked). My husband's belt is worn out after 25+ years of daily wear. I would love to try and replace his belt, but can't locate Mr. Walters or anything remotely close to his belts anywhere. I have no idea if he's still in that area, still married, etc. He had mentioned at the time that one of the major boot makers had spoken to him about buying out his patterns and designs...maybe he sold out? He had a guy helping him stitch the belts together, but I have no idea what his name was. If anyone is familiar with T.R. I would appreciate knowing if he still makes belts, and how to contact him. Or, if anyone knows someone who does this kind of work, I'd love to see some of it. My husband finds it impossible to wear some of the store bought belts out there after wearing this one for so long...he's still wearing it, and it looks pretty rough! THANKS!
