Ha! Well, I can recommend a blacksmith, but he is in Japan. And I don't know what a Tinker does?But you are on the money, Drubs. We have to cop some Gen Next graduate in a marketing/PR role with no concept of building the business; just if they meet their BS performance targets so that they collect their performance bonus, then move on to the next company before their incompetence is illuminated.
As for your boots - nice choice on the yearling pointed toe. If the size is a touch tight, I'd recommend dosing them daily with Neats Foot Oil for a week, in conjunction with stretching on shoe trees overnight. This can usually expand at least half a size; sometimes a full size.
Same principle applies for shoes, as long as the leather has some porosity (as most top brands do). Many manufacturers treat the leather with a synthetic brew heavy with silicone, which provides water resistance, but does not allow the leather to breath, nor absorb any conditioning oil.
And as you and
@Mark1966 have mentioned previously, a welted sole is highly desirable to allow easy and effective re-soling by a cobbler.