Kansas City - Circle of Trust
Bart Atkins
Master Furrier at Alaskan Fur Company
A Trusted Keeper of Enduring Craftsmanship
Trusted Member of the Epic Explorations Circle of Trust
Bart Atkins is a trusted member of the Epic Explorations Circle of Trust because he represents something increasingly rare: a lifetime devoted to mastering a craft. His knowledge, attention to detail, respect for tradition, and ability to renew pieces that carry generations of personal history reflect the kind of meaningful human connection we seek on every journey.
Meet Bart Atkins
Bart Atkins began working with Alaskan Fur Company in 1980, starting in the fur-cleaning department. What might have been simply an entry-level position became the beginning of a vocation spanning more than four decades.
Under the mentorship of master furrier Oscar Donahue, Bart learned the specialized techniques of cutting, sewing, fitting, patternmaking, repair, and restoration. Those skills cannot be mastered quickly. They require patience, precision, an intimate understanding of materials, and years of hands-on experience.
Today, Bart is recognized as a master furrier whose work extends far beyond creating or altering garments. He restores treasured pieces, adapts traditional designs for contemporary use, and helps families preserve garments carrying personal and generational meaning. A coat may represent a parent, grandparent, marriage, celebration, or chapter of family history. Bart understands that working on such a piece means caring for the story attached to it as much as the garment itself.
His talents have also become part of Robert Riesmeyer’s work portraying Santa. Bart has been entrusted with maintaining and caring for the fur used throughout Santa Riesmeyer’s wardrobe—from substantial reindeer-fur trim to a distinctive Norwegian blue fox vest. His craftsmanship helps preserve the natural, Old World character that defines Robert’s portrayal.
Guests encountering Bart should experience more than a demonstration of a specialized trade. They should discover the patience required to master a traditional craft, the stories that can live within a garment, and the remarkable transformation that occurs when skilled hands give a treasured piece new purpose without erasing its past.
What Bart Brings to an Epic Explorations Journey
Bart brings authenticity, specialized knowledge, and a living connection to the world of handcrafted garments. He can help our guests look beyond a finished piece to understand the decisions, materials, techniques, and years of experience behind it.
His presence could add depth to journeys exploring:
- Traditional craftsmanship and disappearing trades
- Fashion, textiles, design, and personal style
- Restoration, preservation, and creative reuse
- Kansas City’s historic garment industry
- Family heirlooms and the memories they carry
- The relationship between craft, identity, and place
- The artisans and makers whose work often remains unseen
Bart does not simply explain how something is made. He helps reveal why craftsmanship matters and what is lost when knowledge passed from one generation to another disappears.
What Bart May Help With
Depending on the journey being curated, Bart may help Epic Explorations create an intimate introduction to the work of a master furrier. This could include a conversation about his career, an examination of the tools and techniques of the trade, insight into restoration and restyling, or a closer look at how an older garment can be reimagined while honoring its original story.
He may also contribute valuable perspective to a Kansas City journey focused on fashion, makers, craftsmanship, or the city’s historic garment industry. His knowledge provides a human bridge between Kansas City’s manufacturing heritage and the skilled artisans continuing that tradition today.
Why Bart Is Part of the Circle of Trust
The Circle of Trust is not built around titles, celebrity, or conventional tourism. It is built around people whose knowledge, character, and generosity can help others see a place or subject more clearly.
Bart belongs here because his mastery has been earned over decades. He respects the materials entrusted to him, the traditions behind his work, and the personal significance each piece may hold. He is someone we trust not only for what he knows, but for the care with which he shares and applies that knowledge.
Bart reminds us that excellence is often quiet. It is found in work done carefully, relationships built over time, and details most people may never notice—but which make all the difference.
Bart’s Perspective
Bart’s work offers a perspective grounded in preservation rather than disposability. An older garment does not automatically become irrelevant simply because styles or circumstances change. With imagination and skill, it can be repaired, reshaped, restyled, and returned to someone’s life.
That perspective reaches well beyond clothing. It invites us to slow down, look more closely, and recognize the value of objects made to last. It also reminds us that restoration is not about freezing something in the past. At its best, restoration allows history to continue moving forward.
I have trusted Bart with some of the most recognizable and meaningful pieces of my Santa wardrobe. That trust is personal. These are not ordinary garments to me; they are part of the character I have developed over more than two decades and part of the experience families carry away from an encounter with Santa.
Bart understands that. He sees the construction, the material, and the work that needs to be done, but he also understands the story behind it. His craftsmanship helps me maintain the natural, slightly Old World appearance that distinguishes my portrayal from the more commercial image of Santa.
What fascinates me most about Bart is the depth of knowledge contained in his hands. He represents the kind of person Epic Explorations wants our guests to meet: someone who has spent a lifetime learning, refining, and preserving something meaningful. When you spend time with a person like Bart, you do not simply learn about a trade. You begin to see patience, tradition, creativity, and the importance of work done well.
That is why Bart Atkins belongs in our Circle of Trust.
Experience Kansas City Through Its Master Craftspeople
Bart helps Epic Explorations reveal a side of Kansas City shaped by skilled hands, enduring traditions, and stories worth preserving—explore our Kansas City journeys, follow what we are curating, or start a conversation about experiencing the city through the people who know its craftsmanship best.