PETALING JAYA, Feb 5 — Make a style statement with hand-painted shoes from Art, My Foot. These canvas shoes sourced from Japanese brand Muji can be personalised with whatever you fancy, making them bespoke treasures to cherish.
Nyonya patterns, Japanese tattoo art and even a picture of your beloved pet — these are some themes that can be drawn on your shoes.
This venture which started late last year joins the creative talents of Dora Ong, 40, and Daniel Lim, 38. The two of them have formed a strong 20-year plus friendship since their college days in Singapore’s Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
After graduation, both of them took different career paths but still kept in touch since they have a lot of common interests. Daniel got involved in production design but last October, he moved towards a lifelong dream of his, as he enrolled in a pâtisserie course at Le Cordon Bleu Malaysia.
Graduating from visual communications, Dora continued to pursue further education in Curtin University doing mass communications. She worked as a wardrobe stylist in Singapore before she moved to Kuala Lumpur.
Nowadays Dora wears several hats; working at Pep Advertising, an agency she started with her sister Diane, helping out at the eatery Awesome Canteen and managing the event space at Awegallery.
As Dora jokingly says, “Life is a long curve as I have not graduated from the university of Awesome Canteen but I have an MBA from Pep Advertising.”
This venture started unconventionally, as it was born out of failure. Last November, Dora had impulsively signed up for an art bazaar that was held at Awegallery. “I had no idea what I was going to do.”
She bought blank canvases and gave them to Daniel instructing him to draw. Four days later, they opened up their stall with about 20 paintings but unfortunately, sales was dismal.
That lukewarm response got Dora rethinking that canvas shoes will be a more unusual and fashionable medium. As Dora says, “We realised that people do not want to just pick up art for their walls but prefer wearable art.”
It’s not a new idea but as Daniel points out, it’s unique since it’s hand painted. They decided that they would use Muji canvas shoes since the bigger surface made it an ideal landscape for their artwork.
Since they unveiled their first pair of hand-painted shoes on social media, there has been no looking back. Daniel adds, “Once we decided to do it, we decided to do it big.”
Their Facebook page quickly raked in about 1,000 followers and every two days, there will be an order for hand-painted shoes. It was mainly word of mouth from their friends and there has also been a lot of return customers; people who were seeking for something unique to add to their daily ensemble. As Dora says, “What is unique is our style of drawing and we insist on the Muji brand.”
Personalisation is also the key to their success. Each pair of shoes goes through a process. First, you’ve got to select the proper size shoes from Muji, making sure they fit. You can have a look at a selection of hand-painted shoes at Ilaika Select Store.
Since those sizes may not fit you, you can commission Art, My Foot to replicate the same designs for you. Otherwise, go for a customised design.
Dora will often interact with customers via email or even WhatsApp to discover their interests. This translates into a design that reflects the customer’s personality, making it bespoke.
Their personal art style also comes into play for their artwork on the shoes. Dora who is an animal lover is well versed with drawing animals. Nevertheless she can also draw anything as per request.
Daniel is well known for his Japanese tattoos but can also paint delicate florals. Some customers will just leave it to the two of them to design whatever they like.
A pre-sketch of the design is also available on request. A pair of shoes from Art, My Foot also does not need to be mirror images, as you can request each side to be completely different, making them unique or tell a continued story on the two shoes.
Dora and Daniel use acrylic paints for their artwork that can take several days to finish depending on how busy they are. Once the artwork is finished and dry, a protective layer is coated over it to make it water resistant.
As demonstrated by Dora in a video found on their Facebook page when her own cat peed on her own pair of shoes, you can wash the shoes and let them dry with no issues. Recognising that there will be wear and tear, Art, My Foot also offers free touch-up for the shoes within one year from the date of purchase.
The possibilities are endless. Who knows... one day, you may be wearing a whole ensemble from top to toe, emblazoned with Dora and Daniel’s beautiful artwork.
You can shop for Art, My Foot hand-painted shoes at Ilaika Select Store, No. 17, Jalan 20/13, Taman Paramount, PJ at RM250 per pair. Customised orders can be made via the shop or via email to [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artmyfoot/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/art_myfoot/
