Alkahest Leather Makes Shoes that Turn Heads and Soothe Feet

A style of footwear made by Alkahest Leather

Dustin Lyons of Alkahest Leather in Joseph, Oregon, makes custom leather footwear that feels like a second skin. The meticulously handcrafted creations emerging from his studio in the forest are comfortable, durable, artistic, and treasured by their owners. Each pair is made for a specific pair of feet.

“The footwear I build allows the feet to behave as they are designed to. It’s about strengthening, as opposed to over-supporting,” Dustin says, adding that various insoles and orthotics can be included for people who require arch and heel support.

What Customers Can Expect

All the shoes and boots produced at Alkahest Leather start with a consultation about the clients’ intended uses and preferences – basic, fancy, shoe, boot. Customers are encouraged to visit the studio, but Dustin also meets with them at fairs and "casting tours."

“The customer chooses colors, buttons, soles, etc.,” Dustin said. “Additional artwork is charged by the hour and can be selected from an ever-growing collection of stock designs, or the customer can bring an idea to me.  In essence, you design them and I build them."

Design selection is followed by a careful outline of the person’s feet and wrapping the area with duct tape. Don’t worry. That part is done over a nylon or thin sock. Usually the cast of one foot is enough, unless the feet are so different that two separate molds are required.

A detailed explanation of the process is on Alkahest Leather along with video instructions, so people who are too far away for the in-person visit can learn how to do that part themselves.

Leather for the footwear is cut from soft but sturdy bull or bison hides sourced from a US supplier. Then it is glued, decorated, and sewn according to techniques Dustin learned at Bonney and Wills School of Shoemaking and Design in Ashland, Oregon.

The making of custom shoes is a branch of the “Bespoke” tradition wherein footwear is handmade to fit a particular individual. The unique style of shoes and boots Dustin makes are often called Renaissance moccasins, a fusion of historical Old World designs and American Indian influences, as far as the general type of construction and materials, along with an appreciation for wearable art. For centuries, cultures around the planet have used an array of beads, buttons, bright colors, appliqué, embroidery, and precious stones to decorate their leather shoes.

It takes about eight to thirty hours to craft a pair of Alkahest shoes, depending on the style and embellishments. People who order custom footwear from Dustin can expect it to be ready anywhere from two months to a year out. “We have a quicker turnaround in the spring,” Dustin said. “By late fall, I have a pretty deep list that takes me out 10 months.”

This Craft is Passed From Master to Apprentice

The so-called Renaissance moccasins were developed in the 60s by Hank Zander at a time when “healthy footwear” was not a mainstream value. Instead, people were cramming their feet into hard shoes with high heels and pointy toes, and podiatrists were doing quite well as a result. I know because my mother worked for one who often commented on the pitfalls of the shoes people were wearing. Zander’s creations gained some traction with those who valued a more natural approach to life, and they took off among Renaissance fair enthusiasts. These days, a handful of American shoemakers still craft functional shoes along those lines, and each contributes their own unique variations on the theme.

Dustin is in a line of American shoemakers who passed their skills from master to apprentice. He studied under William “Bill” Shanor, who learned from Scott Taylor, who was trained by master shoemaker Hank Zander. Dustin intends to take on students of his own in the future. Bill retired a few years ago at 75, after passing the torch to one of his acolytes, journeyman shoemaker, Ken Bode, who is moving the school to Eugene. 

After completing the training program in Ashland, Dustin and his former partner, Tera Ptacek, established Alkahest Leather there in 2011. 

Alkahest Moves to Joseph: Oregon's First Art and Cultural District

The business to the outskirts of Joseph, Oregon, four years ago. That was 2018, the same year Joseph declared itself the state’s first art and cultural district. There, in the midst of fellow creatives and inspiring natural beauty, Dustin put down roots at the end of Old Ski Run Road, on what he calls “a couple of uncombed acres” at the base of Chief Joseph Mountain, the traditional heartland of the Wallowa band of Nez Perces.

One of the first things he made after the Alkahest workshop was ready, were two pairs of boots for twin girls. Since then hundreds of shoes and other artisanal leather accessories – such as shoulder bags and hip bags embellished with decorative sewing, vivid colors, pieces of antler, and semi-precious stones, have emerged from the studio.

Casting Tours and Fairs

When he’s not working in the shop, Dustin hits the road for casting tours and meets with customers personally to make the molds around which the footwear is fashioned. 

Alkahest Leather is also a presence at fairs around the American West. Dustin was a vendor at Oregon’s juried Country Fair for years, where he always placed in the top ten of his category during the highly competitive entry process, and even attained first place one year. His first two fairs this year will be in Utah, followed by appearances in Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.

You can follow his schedule on the Alkahest Leather Facebook page.

The nomadic requirements of the profession don’t bother Dustin. He is a world traveler who previously backpacked overseas, rode the Trans Siberian Railway from Moscow to Mongolia, taught English in Asia, learned Spanish in Guatemala, and worked seasonally in Alaska. It was in 2009, after much wandering, that he stopped at the Renaissance Festival in Apache Junction and first saw samples of the boots that would eventually become his livelihood and anchor him in Oregon.

What is an Alkahest?

If you’re wondering what alkahest means, it’s a term alchemists of old used to define a universal solvent they were searching for. This led some people to proclaim that “the only universal solvent is spit,” a reference akin to “elbow grease” and the hard work it takes to “dissolve” things like stubborn stains or rust, for example. Certainly, being a successful entrepreneur like Dustin involves dissolving all sorts of challenges that tend to crop up. If you venture out to the edge of Eastern Oregon’s breathtaking Wallowa Mountains for a pair of Alkahest shoes or boots, you might ask Dustin what the term signifies to him.

See how to make a mold for Alkahest Footwear: https://alkahestleather.com/pages/test-copy-of-ordering-footwear

This article by Estar Holmes is brought to you by the Mountain View Motel & RV Park, which provides country-style lodgings along with interesting information about people, places, and events in the greater Joseph, Oregon, area.