Using your craft to help out others is something that can help you earn respect from those within your circle and those on the outside. In the aftermath of last years Haiti Earthquake many shoe customizers stepped forward to raise money for Haiti relief, the biggest being the NikeTalk Custom Shoe Auction that helped raise over $2,000. After the tsunami and earthquake two months ago that devastated Japan, Ryan Atianzar of Twitch Custom Sneakers made a great decision to create some Japanese inspired custom Nikes to raise money for the regions relief efforts. Twitch chose a shoe that’s named after a Japanese word, Toki which is a term for the word “people” and used one of the most memorable images in the world as inspiration. That image is a woodbrick print titled “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai but with a spin to better match the shoes. If you look closely the Nike Toki’s had only a perforated outline of the fat Swoosh but Twitch painted the wave and foam in the shape of the Swooshes. On the back heels Japans flag is represented along with a simple “Hope, Love, Help” stenciled in black against white along with the Japanese characters for “pray” painted near the toes. Lastly as a nice final touch the original Nike tongue tags were removed and replaced with a set of custom leather tags adorned with the rising sun variation of Japan’s flag. If you are a size 10 jump on these as 100% of the highest bid from the eBay auction will be donated to GlobalGiving.org’s charity for Japan’s Tsunami and Earthquake Relief Fund. Or if you are a wanting to start customizing shoes watch Twitch’s video for some insight on painting shoes.
Bid on the auction or checkout Twitch’s other work here: Kanagawa Wave Nike Toki’s eBay Auction & TwitchCustoms.com
Music in the video: Alan Lewis – Words I Never Said (Remix)
For more information on Alan Lewis and his music visit:
Facebook.com/AlanLewisMusic
Youtube.com/AlanRaps
