Bespoke Shoemaking

Drew Altizer ’14 is Walking the Road Less Traveled

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY: MELISSA ULSAKER MAAS ‘76  

Drew Altizer ’14 had been working for a global consultancy firm in Boston for nearly two years when the pandemic hit and like Alice in Wonderland, he fell down a rabbit hole—into the magical world of Shoemaking YouTube. Drew was lucky to have a job that easily translated to working at home, but the isolation bred discontent and served as a catalyst for change. During those long boring hours of solitude, he discovered “cobbler content” and the wonderful world of bespoke shoes. A curious click on a thumbnail took him down a very unexpected path.

“There were interesting videos, including some very, very beautiful videos of a Japanese shoemaker, that I would spend hours watching,” Drew recalled. “It wasn’t long before I was yearning to do it myself. I’ve always liked working with my hands, and that’s not something you can get from typing on a keyboard.” The lure of shoemaking became pretty intense during COVID, morphing into somewhat of an obsession, certainly a passion, although Drew didn’t describe it that way. A deep thinker, Drew found himself spending more and more time trying to figure out how he could start making shoes. Where would he do it? What would it take to get started? Could he afford to invest in an expensive hobby?

“I started losing sleep over it,” Drew said. “There was a whole series of problems to solve if I really wanted to start making shoes.” 

And Drew really wanted to—enough to eventually consider going to Italy for 10 weeks to take a training course. “It was not a rational pros and cons decision to spend the money on shoemaking,” he admitted. “It was just a feeling that I couldn’t really control, so I knew I had to try and do it.” Drew readily admits that his then girlfriend—now wife—Kristina, was a bit skeptical about his newfound passion for shoes.

Before he fell headlong down the rabbit hole, Drew didn’t give shoes, or clothing, much thought. “I really was not fashionable at all,” Drew said, laughing. “I had no real interest in fashion or shoes, which is funny, because other shoemakers will tell you how much they loved sneakers as a kid and dress shoes later.” The first video he saw was made by Kirby Allison and he was sucked in by a clickbait thumbnail comparing a $500 shoe to a $5,000 shoe. “I didn’t even know that $500 shoes existed, much less $5,000 shoes,” Drew exclaimed. Who wouldn’t click on that? That video led him to the exquisitely made videos of Japanese shoemaker Ken Kataoka going through the many stages of making a pair of shoes. He found them mesmerizing.

Kataoka’s videos would be particularly attractive to Drew, because the finished product is not what appeals most to him, it’s the process of shoemaking. Each step is cathartic for Drew. “When I finish a certain step and can see what I’ve made, I get this very, very strong sense of satisfaction, as each step looks more and more like a shoe,” he explained.

The turning point

Drew began investing time and money into making shoes, which as a hobby is quite expensive. The more involved he became the more he wanted. Just dabbling in shoes on the side wasn’t enough. The world of shoemakers is a very small one, making it easy for Drew to network and learn more. “It’s a very tight-knit group,” Drew said. “I would imagine I can count on two hands how many actual career shoemakers there are in the U.S.” In fact, googling “the best bespoke shoemakers in the U.S.” doesn’t bring up any lists of American shoemakers. The first result is about the best shoemakers in the world—14 of them. The one American shoemaker that does come up in the top four results is Francis Waplinger in New York City. Waplinger also began his training in Italy. Today his bespoke shoes for men and women start at $5,400. Drew struck up a friendship with Waplinger and did a week of training with him.

After transferring to Berkeley’s Washington, D.C. office in 2022, Drew decided to ask his boss for an unpaid leave of absence—assuming he would never say yes. He sent him a long, well thought out email to which his boss immediately replied with a single line, “Yeah, that’s fine with me.” Totally surprised that he was now free to go to the Schola Academy in Florence, Drew had to face the fact that his dream could become a reality.

The Schola Academy is a craftsmanship school with courses in bag making, hat making, ceramic crafts, culinary arts, sustainable fashion making, and bespoke shoemaking. The bespoke shoemaking course is offered by the footwear academy of the late Stefano Bemer. Before he died at the age of 48, Bemer established himself as one of the finest shoemakers in Italy. During the course, students learn the skills and knowledge needed to conceive, design, and create their own pair of classic bespoke shoes. When Drew went, they were offering 10- and 20-week courses. Since he still had a full-time job, Drew opted for the 10-week course and took the next step down the road of no return. 

When Drew first started buying equipment and materials, it quickly became evident that making something decent would require buying more than the basic tools for a few hundred dollars. It would take thousands of dollars. 

“Including the training I did in Italy, I had probably invested $50,000 into shoemaking at that point,” Drew said. “From the perspective of a hobby, that’s very expensive. From a business standpoint it would cover me for quite a long time, including all the machines I needed and enough leather to last me for a couple of years.” 

By the time he finished the course, he felt pretty good about his ability to make shoes. 

As Drew considered how to create a successful business, a big problem loomed. “Shoemaking is so costly, bespoke shoes have to be expensive,” Drew said. He also wants to further develop his skills and speed. It takes around 120-150 hours to produce a pair of shoes, including measuring and fittings. “I can make a very good pair of shoes now, but not fast enough to make it a profitable business model.” In order to put food on the table, Drew decided to open a store that sells other quality goods while he works towards feeling ready to make and sell bespoke shoes. 

Old House Provisions

After completing the course in Italy, Drew agonized between his desire to make shoes and giving up his very solid job for a risky venture and unknown future. “I struggled for a long time over forsaking this steady, well-paying job that I felt extremely lucky to have—that people all over the country would kill for—to pursue a hobby that may or may not turn into a career,” Drew said. He couldn’t help feeling it was an “ungrateful act,” until he read a biography of Calvin Coolidge.

In 1894, Coolidge was a 22-year-old student at Amherst College when he first brought a pair of shoes to James Lucey to be repaired. Coolidge was impressed with Lucey and their relationship deepened over the years, as Coolidge became Northampton mayor, then Massachusetts governor, vice president in 1921, and ultimately president in 1923 upon the death of Warren G. Harding. Three days into his presidency, Coolidge sent Lucey an emotional letter thanking him for his wisdom and friendship. There was a photo in the book of Lucey in his workshop looking up at a portrait of Coolidge hanging on the wall.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

In September 2023, Drew took a leap of faith and resigned from his job. His store, Old House Provisions, opened in December in Old Town Alexandria on Cameron Street.

Creating bespoke shoes has changed the way Drew looks at fashion. He notes that nicer shoes “should be paired with nicer clothing, and of course, good tailoring.” When the time came to decide what kind of products he wanted to sell alongside his shoes, he went back to YouTube. There he discovered a store in New York that he really liked, The Armoury. “They carry artisanal clothing and accessories with a big emphasis on being well-made luxury brand quality, without the big brand name,” Drew explained. “Everything I’m selling in Old House Provisions that I don’t make is a niche brand that pays an inordinate amount of attention to quality over the expense of marketing and advertising.”

Shoemaking isn’t something that an education at SSSAS prepared him for, but there were teachers that impacted his life. “It’s hard to single out particular teachers, because I had a great experience with nearly all of them,” Drew said. “I went to Amherst thinking I would major in chemistry because my AP Chemistry teacher, Sarah Oakes, was so good. I also learned a great deal from Steve Ebner, who taught me history and practical economics. And despite feeling that English wasn’t my best subject, I really enjoyed my class with Dr. Andy Sidle ” Drew expressed gratitude to former lacrosse coach Andy Taibl and former strength and conditioning coach, Matthew York, both of whom prepared him to play lacrosse at Amherst. Coach York inspired him to delve into Olympic weightlifting and CrossFit, two hobbies he says have stuck around long enough to keep him “decently healthy and fit.”

Would Drew ever have imagined becoming a shoemaker if the pandemic had never happened? Most likely not, but who’s to say he wasn’t fated to love the smell of leather while wielding a shoemaking hammer, lasting pliers, seam gauges, a sole stitcher, fudge wheel, and welt knife. He’s the first to admit that he was always risk-averse, especially financially. Starting his own business was way outside his wheelhouse. But unexpected things happen and nothing stays the same. 

“I wasn’t expecting to be an entrepreneur, certainly not so soon out of college,” Drew said. “But now that I have been working for myself, on my own terms, I don’t know if I could be happy working for someone else!”

Certainly, Drew has no regrets about any of the stops along his life’s journey so far, as each one has made him who he is today. He’s still growing and learning exactly who he is—but one thing he absolutely knows is that shoemaking makes him really happy. It’s fulfilling and challenging, and absolutely worth the risk.