Chef is an up and coming sneaker customizer who has been receiving a generous amount of press lately for his custom venture called GourmetKickz “food for the sole”.

He has been customizing for 4 years now and has done work for Chris Brown, Rick Ro$$, Gilyard Clothing MFG, some MTV staffers, and Super Stylist Groovy Lou. Chef is a New Haven, CT resident and is trying to bring a new “flavor”
to sneaker customization by creating a site that likens sneakers to food.

Gourmetkickz is the best term that can be used to describe Chef’s creations. With true attention to detail, a focus on deconstruction and the use of fine fabrics, Chef’s dishes make for a very nutritous meal to any red blooded
sneaker glutton.

Customizing sneakers is a passion that evolved from Chef’s deep love for the culture. An Ivy League drop out and having found success in sales industries spanning auto sales to mortgage banking, Chef has never before been as happy as he is customizing sneakers. Years after battling a deadly form of bone cancer and struggling to find happiness that he only knew before his illness, the sneaker culture helped Chef find his sole again.

Giving back to the culture which has given him so much happiness is Chef’s number 1 priority. Being innovative in his designs, breaking the norm, and pushing boundaries in the areas of deconstruction and exotic materials is
Chef’s direction for Gourmetkickz.

Chef has some big things planned for 07. He is the inventor of a device which prevents sneakers from creasing! His invention is currently patent pending with the USPTO. In a show of appreciation to the sneaker
culture Chef has even gone as far as to give a DIY version of his invention away in several online sneaker forums in the form of a detailed tutorial. By great demand he has also begun to mass produce his invention
and is looking for beta testers who would like to receive a promo sample of the device in exchange for their opinions. His beta tester sign up list is located at www.gotcrease.com.
Got Crease? Not Anymore!!!

Also big for 07 is a project Chef is working on with Mix CD juggernaut www.mixunit.com. His customs will soon be available on mixunit and soon to follow will be a collaborative site featuring nothing but custom kicks. Chef
plans to introduce a brand new platform for sneaker customs to the world with the help of www.mixunit.com.

Look out for Chef in the AF1 issue of SoleCollector magazine. Other recent press includes his front page appearance in The New Haven Register, his 5 minute news expose on FOX 61 News, his 2 page article from The Boston Globe.

The whole sneaker culture is growing and so is the community of sneaker customizers. While there are great forums for customizers a central place for news and new releases was missing. Customsnkr.com was created to fill this gap.

Instead of creating a single blog customsnkr.com is a multiblogging plattform that offers free blogs to customizers. Customizers can contribute to the “Community Blog”, show or sell their artwork in the “Latest Customs” section and share their knowledge in the “Customization Help” section besides having an own blog. Every blog comes with an integrated Flickr photogallery to display the latest customs of each designer.

I started Kick Factory 2 years ago. I specialize in hand painted sneakers with different concepts ranging from bumble beez to molecules interacting all over the shoe.

I just took home the trophy for best custom themed shoe at the international sneaker battle in Atlantic City for an air force one with the black last supper painted on it. I created a myspace page just so I could give people a sense of what type of art I’m doing on sneakers. My website is coming soon, but until the meantime you can visit my myspace page at www.myspace.com/Kick_Factory, and rate the shoes yourself. Please leave comments, because I appreciate the feedback from the people.

Graf1n’ Squad aka “Da CustoMastaZ” is an artistic duo of two graffers, from Geneva, who were painting anything they could put their hands on, decided one day: ” Hey why not do it on some shoes too?”, and this is how they created “Pimp my shoes”.

They kinda think they’re “the realest” because their prices are pathetic, and they don’t do it for cash but only for the love of what they do. They customize as well as brand new shoes, to make them look even better, old dirty shoes, to make them relive. In their hood they’re some sort of “Custom Supa Stars”, and they’d like to show what they do but it’s hard to find places willing to expose them where they live, so they do it on the internet.
(thx for the introduction guys!)

Astoria VIII was formed by 2 Brothers in early 2005 and is dedicated to designing custom, unique sneaker art. All work is hand painted with precise attention to detail by DLV.

Our focus is to create the most aesthetically inimitable works, using only the finest quality materials to ensure our work is of the highest standard possible.

DLV was born in 1988 and has spent the majority of his life involved with and creating art.
In addition to hand painting every piece available on the site, DLV is also involved in the design process along with his elder brother J.H.A.
All forms of art are used as inspiration for the works created and together we aim to produce pieces which reflect individuality and a progression from those who have preceded us.

Astoria VIII has also chosen to forge relationships with select entities, most notably Melbourne basketball icon KICKZ101 through whom we produce exclusive works for sale and display in store.

In the short period Astoria VIII has been established, we have had our work featured by various publications and media outlets and are also currently on tour with the world renowned Sneaker Pimps.
Our sneakers have also been worn by professional athletes for whom we have designed one off pieces in conjunction with their input.

All pieces on the site are available for sale unless specified.
If you have any questions or wish to order a customised shoe, please lodge a request via our website and we will collaborate on creating your own unique piece.

Astoria VIII is primarily based in Sydney, Australia. In addition we also have a studio in Melbourne.

Artistic Sole is a customizing business in the DC area. A husband & wife team - A.S. has joined the forces of the local sneaker community in hopes of helping change the area’s sneaker game.

In doing so, Artistic Sole seeks to apply some of the hottest tattoo-inspired art in sneaker customization (being as though one of the owners is a tattoo artist). Though we seek to do custom tattoo-inspired sneakers, we can do almost anythin you want (that looks cool) … and even if your idea isn’t cool … we’ll make it cool! POINT BLANK!

Old School is the voice of mainstream street culture. In the pursuit to better understand the urban consumers wants and needs we’ve developed an urban collection of lifestyle apparel that fuses free form art with pop culture.

Our New York City based artists create each piece by hand using an array of mediums to ensure that the garment is unique. Old School is dedicated to art, lifestyle, and culture.
Thx for the review Brittany

Future Kicks. com is a website that displays your hottest footwear brought to you by Stack N Bundles. Here you are able to visualize the future of fashion and design.

Permission is granted to stare. Sit back, relax and be prepared for what you are about to witness is real. Future Kicks are incredibly hand painted with acrylic paint and detailed down to the T. All finished products are protected from cracks and peels. Warning all items are powerful and will bring a lot of attention. Come up with your own ideas, I can paint anything. New kicks will be posted monthly and will remain on fire. The work on this site was envisioned and created by a young talented artist named…..”Grass” #1 custom designer located in Queens N.Y.
(thx for your review Grass)

Hicalorie.com is the online portfolio and shop of the HiCalorieDesign crew. Besides custom sneakers they design toys and illustrations. Superfresh stuff from England.

Manu Custom aka Mad Colours shows damn fresh custom sneaker on his site. He has been doing custom sneakers since some years and is a true master of the art.