Scott Stepanski, owner of Red Bottom Leather, creates unique handcrafted bags of many colors, textures and styles. Because he makes them all by hand, each bag is one of a kind. They are available for purchase locally at Myers Fashions in downtown Alpena.

Stepanski is now in a competition to be named DIY Hero.

“It’s based on a TV show,” Stepanski explained of the competition. “I submitted my photo and my work, and they got back with me and said, ‘You’re in the running.'”

Voting begins Tuesday and runs through March 24 for the first round to help narrow the field down to 15 entrants per category.

All of Scott Stepanski's handcrafted leather bags feature his signature "Red Bottom Leather" on the bottom.

To help get Stepanski further in the competition, go online each day of voting and vote for him once per day, which is the limit per person.

A voting link is located at the top of Stepanski’s website at RedBottomLeather.com. The first round of voting will narrow the field to the top 15 in each category. The second round, from March 24 to 31, will narrow it down to the top 10. The third round will narrow it to top five, from March 31 to April 7.

The field will continue to be narrowed between April 7 and May 5, when the overall DIY Hero winner will be announced.

“I started in the leather craft just over two years ago,” the Alpena man said. “I made a few bags, and then I realized I had pretty good aptitude for it.”

He started an LLC (limited liability company) so he could sell his goods, and he found a great partnership with Myers Fashions, which sells a wide variety of women’s clothing and accessories. Myers owner Ellen Gould saw a beautiful bag Stepanski’s wife Ingrid was wearing, and that’s when the partnership began.

Scott Stepanski makes unique handcrafted leather bags, for sale at Myers Fashions in downtown Alpena. Stepanski’s business is called Red Bottom Leather. Each unique bag features his logo in red on the bottom.

“My collection is limited and exclusive here,” Stepanski said of his handbags, purses and wallets at Myers Fashions. “I make between 25 and 30 bags a year.”

He even makes some bags suitable for men to carry, including a backpack and a small messenger bag.

“It’s all by hand,” he stated. “I don’t use sewing machines. It’s punched one hole at a time. I cut every piece of leather by hand. No templates … it’s all free hand. It really is art.”

He’s always been a creative guy.

“I’ve been creative my entire life,” he said. “I dabbled within a lot of different things. I was a musician for many years.”

Scott Stepanski makes unique handcrafted leather bags, for sale at Myers Fashions in downtown Alpena. Stepanski’s business is called Red Bottom Leather. Each unique bag features his logo in red on the bottom.

He played with several local musicians, including Tommy K from Posen. Stepanski is a drummer.

He has worked in IT for more than 30 years now.

“This is something I just picked up on my own,” Stepanski said of the leather crafting trade. “And I love it.”

It’s a creative outlet for him.

“When I’m working on that, I can shut every other crazy thing off that’s going on in my head,” he said. “So, that’s therapy.”

Scott Stepanski makes unique handcrafted leather bags, for sale at Myers Fashions in downtown Alpena. Stepanski’s business is called Red Bottom Leather. Each unique bag features his logo in red on the bottom.

He’s not in it to make money, but these bags are built to last, so they are not cheap.

“My business model is not to crank things out to make money,” Stepanski said. “I am lucky enough that I have a great employer and a good job.”

He plans to continue making leather bags once he retires.

“If something more came of it, great, but I don’t have any great expectations,” Stepanski said, adding that it would be nice to be able to fund a vacation or two with his business, but he just enjoys doing it.

“It’s handcrafted and it takes time,” he added. “I just love to do it.”

Scott Stepanski makes unique handcrafted leather bags, for sale at Myers Fashions in downtown Alpena. Stepanski’s business is called Red Bottom Leather. Each unique bag features his logo in red on the bottom.

Whoever wins DIY Hero will clench $25,000 and get a two-page article in Make Magazine.

If he wins, he will pay some bills and take his family on a vacation, Stepanski said. His grown children live in different parts of the U.S.

“I have a personal relationship with every piece,” he added. “I’ve spent hours and hours with it. So, it’s important to me. And, it’s important that people see it and go, ‘Wow! I need to have that.’ And, I won’t make two bags that look the same. I want them all to be different … Every piece is an original.”

He noted that if you win a national contest like this, it becomes an opportunity to spotlight the community, and he is proud of Alpena, so he would love to be able to do that. He encourages the community to vote.