Captured by Click Bait: We work with small businesses, especially startups. I can’t believe that I am still talking about COVID but here it is, 2025, and it appears this “ill wind” might have produced something positive, because I have recently finished a project in Old Town Alexandria that was conjured by a client during some pandemic downtime. Captured by an online article by Kirby Allison comparing a $500 shoe to a $5000 shoe, he followed a link into the bespoke world of shoe making and never came out.
The Vision: 
His interest finally led to the footwear academy of the late Stefano Bemer offered by the Schola Academy, a craftsmanship school in Florence as well as to Francis Waplinger, a NYC shoemaker with whom the client became friends, and eventually did some training. By this time, it was apparent that there were few bespoke shoemakers in the world and that this client wanted to be one of them which meant giving up a steady, well-paying job to follow his dream.
The Business: Shoe making as an art form demands skill, training, practice and time. Shoe making as a business requires investment, equipment, inventory, customers and cash. The client decided that a way to do both at once was to open a shop selling quality men’s wear and accessories while at the same time building a bespoke shoe business, which is exactly what he did. The new business is called Old House Provisions, it is in a historic building in historic Old Town Alexandria. The building emanates classic quality and value and so does the brand.
The Building: These old buildings design themselves. Updating them to meet code and obtain city approval is another thing entirely. We are good at it.