As a creator, it’s not always easy to find your niche in the market, or to remain relevant. Sometimes you just have to find something that makes you happy and pray that it appeals to the general public.
Point in case, painting on shoes. Everyone needs to wear shoes, we hope, but they all don’t have to be the same run of the mill mass produced shoes. The idea came to me a few years ago when my godson was about 5 years old. He loved Ironman and birthday was fast approaching, and I didn’t know what to get the child who had everything he could possibly want. That’s when I saw some Instagram posts of custom painted shoes, and I thought, why not? I could do this, I can customise shoes too. Jared’s shoes were just the begining.
Custom shoes are a piece of artwork, wearable artwork that people seem to appreciate more because they can justify the money they spend on them. It’s not just a painting that gets hung up, but something that can be worn and made use of.
Over the years since those first pairs of shoes, I’ve been asked to paint a number of different things on shoes. From soccer team emblems and favourite players, to bride and groom shoes to commemorate their big day, and many, many pairs of comic book hero shoes. As I always tell my clients, your wish is my command – to the best of my abilty. It’s always nice to get creative with something like a pair of shoes.
Something that started off as a hobby and a fun thing to do for my godchildren, has turned into a source of income, and what a great way to earn a living by doing something that you love. There are few things more rewarding than making the world a brighter and more beautiful place for the people that you encounter. Even if it’s just one shoe at a time…