Senior Eve Roiter skillfully designs and paints custom shoes for herself and her friends and hopes to be able to eventually sell her creations. 

Roughly two years ago, Roiter’s interest in art influenced her desire to create something of her own. Gathering inspiration from Pinterest, she now customizes shoes based on the styles or color schemes that her friends request.

“If they have some sort of idea in mind, I can just do whatever,” Roiter said.

Roiter uses basic acrylic paint from Michaels that adheres to the fabric of the shoes. She says for about 20 dollars, this paint is a great cost-effective option for painting shoes due to its durability. 

Roiter begins by cleaning her canvas and sketching out ideas with pencil. She then begins to hand paint her designs, using a small, precise paint brush to bring out the finer details. She usually spends an hour and a half going through the entire process for each pair, not including drying. 

“I also enjoy it, so it’s not too horrible,” Roiter said. 

Most of Roiter’s shoes are custom-painted by her, and she loves to paint most of the sneakers she owns. Roiter doesn’t typically charge for these services, but she would if more people found out about her work. Ideally, Roiter also would like to donate 10% of her earnings to various charities.

Roiter enjoys making personal gifts for her friends and family. When gifting a pair of her custom kicks, she gets the opportunity to stretch her creative legs and make a design of her own. 

“I’ve done it for maybe four or five of my friends,” Roiter said. “I paint my sister’s [senior Charlotte Roiter] shoes a lot, and I paint a lot of my own shoes too.” 

Roiter’s creativity helps her excel in this artistic field. She hopes to continue to create art in the future and work with other people on their own shoes, branching out from just friends and family. 

“I like art but not necessarily fashion,” Roiter said.

If you’re interested in Router’s creative projects, contact her through her Instagram account (@evescustomshoes).