Stitching through History with Eric Van Alstine
Today we're talking with Eric van Alstine, a traditional leather worker from the state of Missouri working to recreate the golden age of leather working with his contemporary works.
Eric really focuses on using historical tools and oftentimes original tools from the eighteen and up to the nineteen hundreds. Eric has a lot to say about the history of leatherworking and where he gets his inspiration from. He is a real student of history when it comes to all of this, and he offers some really interesting perspectives about where he studies where he gets his resources, where he finds originals to be inspired by to make clients and customers bags.
"My only, what I call my modern tools is scissors and harness needles and pretty much everything else is old, antique tools from the Golden Age of leather work and leatherworkthat golden age when happened, were started in about 1826 and then you know it kind of you know went on up until the early nineteen hundreds, and so all my tools come from that time frame and I do have one piece- it goes back to about the late 1700s, I don't use it- it just sits on the shelf. I'm a student of history, American history and I derive a lot of stuff from there and I see a lot of guys that sit there and say: Oh, this is the way it was. This is the way it was you know, but they miss out on the harness makers and the saddle makers and how beautiful their work really was. And so I try to take what those harness makers did in the back, what I call the mountain regions and everything- and you know recreate what they would have made: with the tools that they had, and so that's what makes mine look a little different than most.
You can go out west and sit down with some of these old saddle makers and they just make beautiful works of art, and you know, 1700s hand-stitched saddles, they had to have somebody make them, and you know it's a lost and dying art of what was. I try to keep that alive by picking up old, antique leatherworking tools. I employ all those in my work and at the end of the day it looks a little bit different than most, and that's why I like to do. "
Eric is a super nice guy and a wonderful craftsman. His bags look the part and add flair to any muzzleloading outfit. Listen to the full episode today to hear more about Eric’s life and his work.
Eric, thank you so much for coming onto the program. It was a treat to chat with you.
Follow Eric's Work
Instagram - Instagram.com/ironweed_leather
Facebook - Eric Van Alstine
Email - eric.vanalstine(At)gmail.com