Article Text

What began as a pandemic hobby has become a full-time mission for Drew Altizer, who says he is the only shoemaker working within roughly 100 miles of Alexandria.

Altizer opened Old House Provisions on Cameron Street in Old Town last December. The menswear boutique specializes in bespoke footwear made by hand inside its on-site workshop.

During the 2020 COVID lockdowns, Altizer began watching online videos of Japanese artisans making shoes. Fascinated by the process and eager to work with his hands, he started learning the craft himself.

The 29-year-old Saint Stephen’s and Saint Agnes graduate founded the company in 2022. He wanted to leave his consulting career for shoemaking but recognized that the trade alone can be difficult to sustain in the United States.

To support the workshop, Old House Provisions also sells tailored and casual menswear, accessories and ready-to-wear shoes. Its inventory includes products made by craftspeople in Japan, Italy and the United States, with an emphasis on quality without steep designer-brand premiums.

Altizer trained primarily in Italy and also studied under British and Japanese masters. Each bespoke commission begins with detailed measurements and a conversation about what the customer wants.

Using those measurements, Altizer sculpts a unique foot-shaped mold known as a last. He then produces fitting shoes to test the shape and identify needed adjustments before making the finished pair entirely by hand with traditional materials and construction methods.

An initial pair requires more than 180 hours of work. Later pairs made for the same customer take about 100 hours because the personalized lasts have already been created. The finished shoes are delivered in a custom wooden Old House Provisions box.

Altizer’s listed 2024 price was $6,200 for a customer’s first bespoke pair and $5,200 for each additional pair.

He said fewer than 10 working shoemakers remain in the United States, despite the country’s sizable market for bespoke footwear. His long-term goal is to bring more people into the profession and help preserve the craft.

Altizer also wants customers to understand that shoemakers and cobblers practice separate trades. Old House Provisions will highlight those differences during a side-by-side welting demonstration with Bedo’s Leatherworks on Saturday, March 29, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The event will include a tasting with 6 Planes Coffee from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a bourbon tasting sponsored by Caswell Boot Co. from noon until closing.

Old House Provisions is located at 315A Cameron Street in Old Town Alexandria.