Photo courtesy of Drew Altizer
The Altizers with their pup.
Drew Altizer is following his passion for shoemaking and quality menswear by opening his own store Dec. 14 in Old Town Alexandria.
Old House Provisions will open its doors at 315-A Cameron St., with a grand opening Dec. 14, holding a pop-up event co-hosted with Caswell Boot Company.
Located above The Hive, store hours for Old House Provisions will be Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m.
Altizer, a St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School grad, worked as an economic consultant after graduating from college.
“I liked my job, but I sort of looked into the future a little bit and knew I was not necessarily cut out for the top level positions,” he said. “I sort of had an eye toward trying to find another passion.”
Watching videos of shoe-making on YouTube sucked him in, he said. “The big part two was using my hands and getting up from a desk job. It took a toll on my fitness and people like me who naturally have an itch toward building.”
OHP Caswell Popup 2024
A grand opening is set for Dec. 14.
He studied shoe-making during a 10-week training program at Stefano Bemer in Florence in the fall of 2022. (Bemer, who died in 2012 but whose company lives on, was a legend in the world of custom-made shoes.)
Altizer then spent two weeks in Japan training with a custom shoemaker north of Tokyo.
“They love and appreciate crafts there,” Altizer said. "Even the traditional handmade shoemakers in London, Paris and Florence send shoes to Japan to have it finished. There is such a large base of skilled craftsman there.”
When Altizer opens his menswear retail store featuring brands such as Ring Jacket, Alden Shoes and English shoemaker Edward Green, there will be room in the back for his custom shoe-making business.
Follow Altizer on his blog about the shoe and clothing business: https://oldhouseprovisions.com/blogs/news.
