Alvin Drafting History

About

Welcome back to Alvin. This is our brand new website, full of the classic tools you are familiar with. Our renewed line is a wonderfully curated collection. of our best sellers and greatest hits. This is a fresh look at our recognizable family of brands, from cutting mats to student scales and tracing paper to templates. We are refocused on the top ten categories of the drafting aisle.

Since Alvin Shoham founded the company in 1950, Alvin has been the name brand in drafting, drawing, and design. It has been a staple in every college classroom, teaching the principles of drawing and design. Professionals have used Alvin brand tools in the design of everything from the NASA space programs to the Ford Mustang. That is where our heritage comes from, Alvin helped design America.

Our products have also been adopted over the years by many different arts and professions. From painters to scientists, to a Zoo design firm. The new and innovative ways our tools can be used, seems to be limitless.

In 2020 a new chapter began with Alvin being acquired from the Shoham family by Ascendant. As the new stewards of Alvin we understand the responsibility to the legacy, and we are excited to be builders of the bridge to future Alvin users. We can't wait to showcase the ways our tools are being used to help people create. We also won't forget Al Shoham's promise to the customer of, "quality at a fair price." -Ascendant

Ascendant specializes in acquiring brands with a history of leading their industry segment and a proven product line. The Ascendant team strives to restore a brand’s strengths while shaping it to thrive in today’s fast-moving, multichannel marketplace. The Utah-based company is led by a team with deep experience in partnering with suppliers, distributors, sales agencies and retailers of all types. Visit Ascendant’s website to learn more - https://www.ascendantbrands.com/

 

As new ownership takes over the stewardship of the brand, we want to maintain integrity, carry on the legacy and redefine to become a forward-thinking digital brand. Think old dog, new tricks.

Because we have been around since 1950 our name and blue diamond logo are very recognizable to anyone in the club. People tell us stories about dads, grandfathers, and uncles that had our tools on their desk or in their workroom. Our lineage is strong, and we would like to continue that relationship of handing down these skills. We also want to forge a new path so future people talk about how their aunt used our tools in her painting, or their mom had Alvin tools at her interior design business, or just, “Oh, I know Alvin my grandma always used them”. We see our new version as more inclusive going forward with the spirit that anyone can use our tools to get a better line, a better circle and a better result. Our tools have been appropriated by makers, bakers, fashion teachers, sculptors, landscape architects, game builders and many more.