I have always painted on canvas since I was a little girl, but I never thought to try different surfaces.

The idea to paint on shoes came to mind when my Husband sent me a link to the popular shoe brand, TOMS, because he wanted to purchase a pair for me. I looked at their site and selected a pair that I liked, but I wished that they had more variety. Upon exploring more of what they offered, I saw a section that was dedicated to hosting a "Style Your Sole" party. This is an event to host in your community to allow people that come to purchase Toms and to customize them with paint, glitter, fabric, glue, etc.

Because of this... I truly became inspired to paint a pair of my own. Being an Alaskan at heart, I decided to design a pair with salmon (see it here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/52403819/hand-painted-vans-salmon). I wore them for awhile, getting compliments and testing them out. Since it seemed that people liked them, I thought I may as well put them on my Etsy shop and see how it goes.

4 weeks later I was contact by the marketing director at Vans, Inc. The popular shoe company worldwide for canvas shoes. She had seen my posting on Etsy and asked for me to paint a pair for a display in their store in San Francisco. After sending her my work, she then asked if I would be interested in creating more.

Ever since, I have created several designs that can be found in locations within the US, including Washington DC and San Diego. They also opened a flagship store in Bejing, China and my panda design was showcased (design here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/43455639/hand-painted-vans-pandas).

The Vans opportunity has increased my exposure to the shoe painting world, as well as to more clients. Etsy has been a great tool for me to share my artwork and I hope you enjoy.