A Curated Look Upon The Sub-Culture of Customized Sneakers

April 5, 2009

April 4, 2009

October 6, 2010

For our most recent interview we are proud to spread word about YoaKustoms. A rather young customizer just coming up on 1 year in the hobby. In that one year she has learned a lot, her designs have become more detailed, and she has received national exposure. So check it!

1. Please give your name, age, where you are from and or grew up?

My name is Amanda Yoakum. I am 25 years old and from good old Basking Ridge, NJ.

2. What, if any, art based education have you had?

I’ve been doing art since I was a small child; I was born with it in my blood. I got my BFA in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design in NYC.

3.When did you start and what got you into customizing?

YoaKustoms is just about to have its 1^st birthday in April. I got into customizing because my bf is a sneakerhead, so I customized a pair of kicks for his birthday, he put them up on the forums and they were a huge hit and now here I am. (This design below was that first pair!)

warios1

April 2, 2009

April 1, 2009

This pair of kicks was made using traditional Ikat material from my country, even tho i was born in Moscow part of my life i spent in Uzbekistan in the Middle East and i consider that my second home. So yea i had some material send to me from Uzbekistan and its traditional waxed woven silk or better known as Ikat. What is Ikat? “Ikat, or Ikkat, is a style of weaving that uses a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft before the threads are woven to create a pattern or design. A Double Ikat is when both the warp and the weft are tie-dyed before weaving. Ikats have been woven in cultures all over the world. In the 19th century, the Silk Road desert oases of Bukhara and Samarkand (in what is now Uzbekistan in Central Asia) were famous for their fine silk Uzbek Ikat. Like any craft or art form, ikats vary widely from country to country and region to region. Designs may have symbolic of ritual meaning or have been developed for export trade. Ikats are often symbols of status, wealth, power and prestige. Perhaps because of the difficulty and time required to make ikats, some cultures believe the cloth is imbued with magical powers.” Taken from Wiki. Sorry to make you read so much but i just think it might interest some people.

April 1, 2009

The media attention U.S. artist “Kaws” is getting right now is insane. But that is an extremely important fact, visual arts have seemed to have taken a dip in mainstream exposure the past ten years or so due to the increase in the media’s attention to “other” current events. This past year has seen more artists in the news such as Kaws and Shepard Fairey, which is great to spread word of actual skilled artists considering how many things are created on computers in this time. Yet certain “cool” people complain when the mainstream gets hooked on certain “underground hidden secrets”. Why limit exposure to only the underground and “those in the know”? Why sell yourself short by not sharing your work as much as possible? This is planet Earth, art and all subjects should be able to be experienced by anyone who wishes. What does that have to do with these shoes by emmanueLabor? Everything.

Kaws started out as someone that is now known as being a graffiti artist. From those beginnings he educated himself, went to school, and took his skills and ideas to create the empire of art, products, and work we see today. These same opportunities are there for any person with a true passion for customizing sneakers. PaintorThread will be doing our part to help out any customizer that wants to reach the top, all while recognizing how this hobby started and grew over the past 10 years. EmmanueLabor is one perfect example of someone with the passion and respect for the hobby. That is the reason we frequently post his work. Enough talk, on to the shoes.

EL’s design is based off of Kaws’ release last year of denim with glow in the dark accents. The back panels, laces, and stitching all glow. Allowing EL’s placement of the Kaws artwork on the back panels to stick out in the dark.

emmanueLabor’s MySpace

October 24, 2013

We saw these a bit earlier….as we know the access code to 3R Customs VIP section. Yeah PaintorThread is special, be jealous, we got K’NEX-ions. The stitched 3R logo is down right beautiful. Here is the low down on these from Sole Jest3r himself:

I’ve had this idea for a Nike Blazer since the opening of Sole Bar in LA when the white perforated Blazers released. I originally wanted to do an all white Blazer with the 3R logo lasered onto the large upper panel, but I sidetracked the idea for awhile and it finally came to fruition, but better than I had imagined!

Thanks to my cool fabric guys for the hook-up as always, I was able to upgrade the idea by adding a barrage of 3M! This particular 1 of 1 for my personal collection features white 3M on most of the upper with a blue 3M trim along the midsole and lacestays. Silver 3M on the toe cap as well as the back piece with my “JESTER” tag. Black 3M on the heel wrapped with my signature red ribbon. The tongue is checkerboard contrast stitched nylon with extra height to give it that extra pop and the 3R logo is done in a white-to-black lenticular and features a stingray swoosh!

3R Customs Website

March 31, 2009

Lazy Oneofone Launch

Sneaker Freaker: PK! FINNISH FOOTWEAR FABRICATION : Serum Footwear

Interview with YoaKustoms Shoe Customizer Amanda Yoakum

emmanueLabor: 808s and Heartbreaks Adidas Superstars

Desp1: Ikat Samba

emmanueLabor: “Real Unoriginal” aka Kaws & Effect Dunks

3R Customs: 3R Blazer Mid Premium

Swaves – Purple Frog Dunk Hi’s

Customizing Topics

Customs by Brand

Get Your Own Customs

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