students DO IT.

photos by amani fossati-moiane and jeremy dukes

new pair or used pair from some body,” Kramer said.

An environmental impact is not the first thing most think of when buy ing a new pair of shoes. Studies by Zero Waste Sonoma, a government agency created to reduce landfill waste show that overconsumption has led to 95% of the 25 billion shoes manufac tured each year ending up in the landfill.

For sophomore Hirem Garcia, the most import ant aspect in picking a new shoe is self-expression.

“I think that the color of my shoes and the design of my shoes show people that I am unique and I like different [styles] than the majority,” Garcia said. “For example, I don’t wear Air Forces like everybody

Senior Kyle Park paints custom shoes to fit anyone’s liking

SSitting at a desk cluttered with Posca pens, Palo Alto High School Senior Kyle Park is hard at work. With a brush in hand, Park carefully applies acrylic paint to a brand new white shoe.

Though the room is so messy that you would believe that no one could possibly get any work done, Park says the disorganization helps him think. He is one of the few student artists that have stepped into shoe customization.

Being stuck at home during lockdown, then-sophomore Park came across a Tik Tok post of custom shoe designs. He instantly became hooked and decided to pursue this new form of art.

“When I saw that post, I think I just bought a pair of shoes,” Park said. “They were white and I was like, ‘You know what, I have a couple of pens in my house [so] I might as well just try it. It was pretty spontaneous.”

Now a senior, Park continues his passion for shoe customization, taking commissions from friends and family.

Always interested in the arts, Park has taken Art Spectrum, Graphic Design, Ceramics, and Glassblowing at Paly, as well as art classes outside of school. His designs can be seen on his water bottle, phone case, and backpack.

Starting from just two pairs of shoes, he went on to do more commissions, realizing how much people enjoyed his artwork.

At the beginning of each commission, Park conducts an interview to understand what his client wants, including hobbies, interests, and favorite colors, and brainstorms ideas for the design.

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“It’s almost like I’m playing an icebreaker game,” Park said. “Like I just want to get to know the person more than surface level.”

The interview process helps to combine interests and allow Park to explore a range of possibilities for each commission.

“I’ll draw a mock-up design on Procreate, and I can send that to [the client] and then we go back and forth, do some revisions and then when they’re finally happy with the shoe design, it’s finalized,” Park said.

Park’s tools consist of Posca Pens, acrylic paints, brushes and Procreate — a graphics editing app used for digital art.

“Posca pens are just acrylic paint pens, and they already have an adhesive in them so that when you draw on, like a surface, they generally don’t come off that easily,” Park said.

Depending on a shoe’s glossy material, Posca pens can be replaced by an acrylic finish or a sprayed on coat to ensure the paint remains on its surface.

Park can paint just about any part of a shoe. From sole to upper shoe, his artwork fluctuates to meet his clients needs.

“I have to hit a wide variety of things, some of them are just rough scribbles and very minimalist designs, it kind of just varies depending on what the customer is asking,” Park said.

Planning the shoe design usually takes Park one to two days, factoring in the communication time with customers between drafts for revisions. But the actual painting process can be done in one day, ranging any- where from 30 minutes to four hours.

Park enjoys the freedom that comes with designing the shoes and the joy that he can bring to his customers.

“It’s kind of a way for me to fully express myself creatively I guess,” Park said. Having done more than 10 commissions, Park’s experience level continues to evolve.

Park plans on continuing his business in college, but he is going to stick to catering for friends and family.

“I just want more of something casual or like a fun side way to make money and this has been really enjoyable, it’s been mostly like a hobby,” Park said.

While customizing his first shoe was very daunting, Park said that his designs gradually got better after each commission.

“You have to understand that when you get into something, especially art, [it’s] going to be a really tedious process to get to where you want to be,” Park said.

“Just don’t be afraid of failure, take failure in your stride.”

Left: Ponyo-themed shoes for a social media post.

Below: Track shoes and a pair of Naruto-themed “Air Force 1s.”