I love "Retail Advertising!" Especially creating retail campaigns for Western boot companies like Thieves Market, a 10-store Southern California retailer of boots and western wear, because I also love wearing cowboy boots.

Here are a few of the newspaper print ads we created for their ongoing newspaper campaign prior to the company filing for Chapter 13 protection. Part of the company's downfall was its ambitious expansion plan. In the late 1980s, President Richard Downes and his family planned to take the concept nationwide to 66 stores. Sales were up, and Thieves Market was one of the largest single accounts for boot makers, he said. In 1995, demand dropped, sales were down and those plans faded. The company ended up closing nine unprofitable stores in Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange counties, including its original Long Beach store.