American Made: Mark Albert Boots

Our story with Mark Albert Boots is in FOLK’s Slow Living issue.

For Mark Barbera a love of well made boots has turned from a sketch and a dream into a full fledged business that hopes to keep a decades old Pennsylvania boot factory alive.

I’m the founder of Mark Albert Boots. It all started when I was a freshman in college in 2015. My style had began to mature beyond sneakers, which led me to the Chelsea boot – a popular, versatile boot for everyday wear. The problem was that I could not afford the likes of Common Projects but did not want to skimp on $90 H&M either. Upon further research, there was really no middle ground. I was home over Thanksgiving break when I had shown my Dad some sketches of Chelseas that I designed. He told me that I should take them to the “local factory” and see if they would make them. First, I had no clue that a local boot factory existed, and second, I was sure they would want nothing to do with a 19 year old and his ideas. 

Regardless, by my father’s insistence, I visited the factory with my sketches. Long story short, I was granted the opportunity to make this design a reality but I had to meet a nearly $13,000 minimum order. At the time, I was working landscaping in the summers and had about $550 to my name so I was a bit discouraged. After some thinking, I decided to pay my friend (and still my content creator to this day) about $300 to make a Kickstarter video. Kickstarter ended up really well and we sold just over $22,000 in 30 days. This gave me what I needed to get started. 

I became obsessed with the factory, its story, and its capabilities. This factory has roots in our town since 1948, and I was fascinated by the potential. Since then, I have shown my products at the most prominent wholesale tradeshows across the globe, from NYC to Florence, Italy. Today, we are a Direct-to-Consumer brand, selling the best product we’ve ever produced at the best prices through our website.

I think that its important to support the trades that still exist today in the US. It is easy for us to shop based on the best price, given that there are so many options from foreign manufacturers on the market. However, we rarely think about the repercussions of our fast-fashion culture today. Beyond the immense environmental damage caused by the disposable nature of products today, it is also the driving force that is crushing middle class America and further separating the rich from the poor. I firmly believe in buying far less, far better things. Also worth noting, just because something is “Made in USA” absolutely does not mean it’s the best. However, due to the competition from the global economy, those brands still manufacturing in the USA have found that quality is the only thing that will keep them in business, as the prices inevitably will be higher due to higher labor costs.

Our greatest strength is our experience. We can combine over
60 years of bootmaking heritage with modern sales and marketing strategies to completely revitalize this factory, or that was the plan, and its working already in a short year since the real implementation of our direct-to-consumer model.

Our greatest struggle is workforce. Sure, we need to update machines
to modernize the process a bit, but ultimately, workforce will make or break our factory. We have employees here who have worked here for over40+ years, following their mother before them. We have some excellent younger workers as well, but it’s a systemic problem these days to findyounger workers who both value the craft and also value hard-work. Lets face it, the younger generations are entitled. Its sad that everyone thinks they must go to college to be successful. Unfortunately, that has led to a swarm of kids who really would have been better off going to trade school or apprenticing at a business (like ours), who are now stuck swimming in debt. My goal is to really show younger workers

why they should invest their careers in this factory- we are not just
an assembly line. We are a group of incredibly hands-on, skilled craftspeople and our workers should be compensated as such.

I personally love supporting American-made because I’ve found that my clothes last longer, my food quality is higher and so and so forth. It’s been a challenge in the past to find, for example, t-shirts, that are Made in USA. But now, there is no excuse given social media, the internet, and amazing venues like Shop AF who promote American-made makers across the country. Some of my favorites (mostly clothing) are: 3Sixteen, Shockoe Atelier, Bradley Mountain, Jungmaven, Witness Co, Dehen 1920, and Ball and Buck.

Oh man, there are so many about the employees, but I will leave that
to the Meet the Makers section of my website. A super amazing story to me is the way that my family personally ties into this story of Mark Albert.
As I mentioned, the factory is here in Somerset, PA where I was born and raised, and where my family has been for almost three generations. I was in the factory one day, probably 8 months or so after I started working with them, when I was approached by Bill, a partially-retired mechanic and guru of all things mechanical in our factory. He says, “Joe Barbera was a great man,” and I’m thinking “Who the hell is Joe Barbera? My uncle?” then it hits me, he is referringto my Nonno (great-grandfather).
My Nonno was an immigrant from Sicily who was a master shoemaker and cobbler here in Somerset after settling coming to the States. Bill continues to say “Joe used to come into the old factory when we were first getting started and talk shop, give advice and answer any questions about shoemaking that we had.” I was shocked because I had never even met my Nonno, he had passed before I was born, but here I was, standing in a factory where my family heritage has come full circle. It was a surreal moment.

The business has come so far since the beginning. I was honestly just
a nuisance to the factory when I started, sort of that young kid who gets in the way. Now, after taking Mark Albert Direct-to-Consumer, we have seen 246% growth in one year. Our line is exciting, we are growing a strong social media following, and we are building profitable boots

for the absolute best value that the consumer can find out there. The best part is that its been authentic from the beginning, no smoke and mirrors, just following a passion and working with the fine folks who have given me the opportunity since the day I first walked in the door.

I am planning on acquiring the factory this year. Its been a two year process, but it seems like we are finally approaching an agreement.
It has been incredibly tolling, but I am so excited to carry on the torch and hopefully evolve this business in ways we have not yet imagined. We have so many opportunities on the horizon.

In owning the factory, its no longer just about Mark Albert. We have 50 employees and we make thousands of pairs of boots a year for Mark Albert, our work boot line, Silverado, and our other brands. We hope to expand the reach of Made in USA footwear by private labeling for several large retail partners and brands. Lots of uphill climbing to do, but I am so excited to be on this journey.