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The Best Iron Man Themed Custom Shoes

With a history of 50 years, 500+ comics, and now 3 feature films Iron Man is quite the accomplished comic book character. Apart of the Marvel Comics empire the red and gold superpower machine super hero is not just for comic book nerds. Sneakerheads have fully embraced the metal suit look of engineer billionaire Tony Stark. With the release of 2008′s Iron Man movie the idea to use the red and golden suit for a custom sneaker fan art design only continued to grow. 5 years later and on the release of the 3rd movie we have scoured the web for what we’d like to consider the best Iron Man [more]

#CKIP: Metallic Gold and Black Houndstooth Converse by @BlackTieUnderground

Did you know yesterday a look into the mid point of a decon-recon Converse Chuck Taylor was in your future? If you said “Yes, duh?” send us a tweet @paintorthread there is some questions that need answering. In the meantime if you did not say yes give us a follow along with the customizer @BlackTieUnderground so you can be notified of what this custom will end up looking like. Bam!

Great White Shark Custom All Star Shoes by @FreakerSneaks

The end detail on these “Shark Taylors” are nothing short of extreme. After seeing the preview of this custom Converse by Jonny of FreakerSneaks yesterday we have a finished piece here on a previously white canvas high top. A deep ocean background with sun shining through from above adds to the detail of this undershot of the waters fiercest predator, the great white shark. The vicious design overcomes the canvas with four realistic drips of blood make their way onto the rubber vulcanized midsoles. Blood stained laces finish off the custom painted design.

Checkout more work from FreakerSneaks at: FreakerSneaks.com and follow him on Facebook.com/FreakerSneaks

CKIP: Shark Custom Converse Chuck Taylor Shoes by FreakerSneaks

Out in Athens, Greece Jonny of FreakerSneaks is putting in work on some shark themed Converse Chuck Taylors. Dunuh Dunuh Dunuh…check back for the complete project and go see FreakerSneaks facebook page: Facebook.com/FreakerSneaks

“EL CALZADO PLACE” CUSTOM CONVERSE by Dr Romanelli

Getting back to his roots tastemaker Dr. Romanelli known mostly for his reconstructed designs of vintage apparel that has led to numerous collaborations with big brands has started a new line of custom shoes to kick off a diy streetwear think tank by the name of The Pancake Epidemic. Sticking to his decon-recon process DRx has teamed up with Los Angeles, California based shoe cobbler Raul Ojeda of Willies Shoe Service to create a line of bespoke style Converse.

This is the first pair of the line that started off as a turf green and white Converse Pro Leather. Through a half way deconstruction process, meaning the green suede uppers were kept, the biggest changes were made in the addition of a few shades of premium brown leathers with contrast stitching to the lace panels, tongues, heels, and toes. The lace panels were also graced with brass eyelets and the cupsoles restitched with brown threading to complete the premium transition.

Stay tuned with PaintOrThread.com for the next pair and see more of the DRx headed streetwear thinktank via their site ThePancakeEpidemic.com and don’t forget to follow him on Twitter at @DRxRomanelli

Images via: DrRomanelli.com

The Best Fight Club Custom Shoes: Nikes, Vans, Converse

In celebration of a spike in traffic today due to people searching for Fight Club custom shoes and landing on couple previous posts here is a list of hand created Fight Club custom shoes from around the Internet. In no particular order the best 10 pairs found are on the next pages along with info on how to contact each artist. Base shoes range range from Nikes to Keds with designs of Tyler Durden to the infamous pink bars of soap. Which is your favorite?

How to Reconstruct A Converse Chuck Taylor by Blacktie Underground

You are lucky. Around 8 or 9 years ago when the first, that we know of, people started customizing shoes through the decon-recon method all they had was the knowledge of how the shoes were visually put together and ambition to make their own using new materials. You are lucky because someone who put in the work to figure out deconstruction reconstruction shoe customizing themselves is giving you step by step examples of how you can do it yourself. They are also showing their customers why a certain price point is warranted for this type of customization.

Blacktie Underground has recorded 15 steps on how you can take a pair of high top Converse All Star Chuck Taylors from boring plain to a one of a kind piece of art that only you will have. If all they shared were the tools they use then you would still be starting out a step ahead in comparison to pretty much every shoe customizer who wanted to attempt, and now has a portfolio of, decon-recon customs.

Checkout the entire tutorial via their Tumblr here: HOW TO RECONSTRUCT A CONVERSE CHUCK TAYLOR HIGH-TOP WITH THE BLACKTIE UNDERGROUND

Go from this:

To this:

The Ave Venice: Custom Shoes and Shirts on ABC’s Shark Tank

For the most part everything posted on PaintOrThread.com has been a hand made custom shoe. Created by hand through a form of painting or deconstructing and reconstructing with a few other minor techniques in between. Generally shoes are not posted that were created from any big brand online or in-store customization programs such as NikeID, miAdidas, YourReebok or Vans Customs. The reason being that shoe customization is truly its own art form that takes an understanding of the footwear’s features to end up with a quality finished piece of wearable art. This brand is somewhere in the middle.

Sometime in 2010 we stumbled across a shop called The Ave Venice. Upon their Facebook page a pair of custom Converse Chuck Taylors with a persons face on the sides was showcased. Amazed by the details, this warranted a quick click to their website which introduced a completely new technique seen in custom shoes. The Ave Venice was started in 2010 by Nick Romero who modified a digital t-shirt printer, through a patented process, to be able to print on shoes. First it was the aforementioned Converse All Stars and later on Vans Slip Ons were added to the selection. Starting with a blank pair of canvas sneakers, a picture or some sort of graphic design add the printer and minutes later the shoes are finished. How is this in the middle of sneaker customizers and something like NikeID? Because technically no one is making them by hand and they can be “mass produced” but at the same time each pair could be a design that took some Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator skills. Plus the fact of the ingenuity it took Nick and his team to create the customization process was altering an original concept is right up any sneaker customizers alley. The long hours obviously aren’t behind every shoe but there still is a level of individuality which is what most all sneaker customizers pride themselves in. Today though this brand might get a big kick start.

Tonight at 8pm EST Nick and The Ave Venice will be featured on the ABC’s Shark Tank in hopes of making the brand and business bigger. In front of 5 “sharks”, more realistically known as five wealthy investors, and millions watching at home, Nick and his team will attempt to pitch his business to gain funding. Two notable sharks to PaintOrThread readers are Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and FUBU creator Daymond John Success is having just one of the sharks interested enough to provide investment, insight, guidance, mentor-ship, connections and more in return for a certain percentage of the company’s equity. Failing may be considered not having one shark interested but success is still gained through millions of people being introduced to the company and who knows, maybe a possible investor somewhere down the road. Considering some brands and products that received investments from the sharks the The Ave Venice hopefully won’t go home empty handed.

Checkout more about and buy designs created at The Ave Venice via their website: TheAveVenice.com

Where The Wild Things Are Vans Slip Ons:

Sugar Skull Converse All Star Chuck Taylors:

Breaking Bad Converse All Stars worn by the shows actor Bryan Cranston:

Your ad here. email contact[at]paintorthread[dot]com

Anushka Mayne Custom Shoes Article on TheHindu.com

Shoe customizing and shoe customizers are as global as footwear is itself. If people are wearing shoes somewhere more than likely there is someone who has taken the next step to give their ordinary shoes some true life. Even though a majority of shoe customizers may be in America a place like Bangalore, Karnataka India has at least one and her name is Anushka Mayne. Most of her custom designs can be found on her businesses Facebook page: Anushka Mayne Custom Shoes. Despite the global presence shoe customizing is building there are still people not fully aware of the unique artform. Recently Anushka was interviewed by TheHindu.com to spread more light on what it is she does, how she got started and what shoe customizing has allowed her to achieve so far.

Checkout Anushka Maynes article about her Custom Shoes here: TheHindu.com: A canvas to doodle on

Killer Gerbil Custom Converse Chuck Taylors

Singapore based street artist Killer Gerbil was recently commissioned by Converse Singapore to create a pair of custom kicks for a release party at Tangs Playlab. Sticking to the street art vibe Killer Gerbil took to the all white canvas Chuck Taylor All Stars with a combination of red, green and blue spray paint for a base layer and a quick collage of his signature character and tagging to complete the pair. These will be given away at Playlab at Tangs on November 12th, 2011 during the Converse Manifesto Launch Event. As well attendees can win other prizes and checkout the latest Converse collection.

Checkout the event details here: Converse Manifesto Launch Event

Fight Club Custom Hand Painted Converse Chuck Taylors

Earlier this year a similar Fight Club custom sneaker design was seen using a pair of Nike Dunks from YoaKustoms. Even though the design is practically the same, the artist Virulent Apparel chose a highly appealing “Fight Club” like sneaker, the Converse Chuck Taylor for his girlfriend’s birthday present. A completely hand painted profile of the main characters, Tyler Durden and his nameless counterpart (or maybe character) played by Brad Pitt and Edward Norton cover the shoes lateral panels with a blood splattered and dirty green back ground. If the devious grin on Durden’s face did not hint enough at the shoes theme the tongues should being covered with pink, bubbly Fight Club bars of soap. The only thing that could really make these perfect is a few months of intense wear to rough up the untouched white canvas, laces, and rubber soles. Again talk about these Fight Club shoes.

Contact Virulent Apparel to create your own Fight Club shoes via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VirulentApparel or Twitter: @VirulentApparel

Oar Raisers Custom Converse Chuck Taylors by Canvas Warriors

Sandira Reddy the shoe customizer behind Canvas Warriors put together a couple pairs of custom painted Converse Chuck Taylors for Oar Raisers, 2 guys set on a pretty interesting fund raising mission. Tom Dignum and Chris Howard calling themselves Oar Raisers, are working on finding sponsorship deals, training, and taking part in fund raising events. Their goal is to take on the Atlantic Rowing Challenge in order to raise money for Parkinson’s UK, a charity in search for the cure of Parkinson’s disease. Follow Tom and Chris’s story here: www.OarRaisers.co.uk and watch the video below to see Sandira’s day customizing the Oar Raiser Chucks.

Check out more of Sandira’s Canvas Warrior custom shoe work here: CanvasWarriors.co.uk

11 pairs of Womens and Kids Custom Christmas Themed Shoes

Despite the fact that Nike usually comes out with some sort of Christmas colorway shoe ever year Christmas and other winter holidays are not a very popular theme among the average PaintOrThread.com featured shoe customizers. But…there is a market of people that do like Christmas themed custom shoes and I have a feeling they are along the lines of the same people that buy Christmas sweaters but not because they think they are ugly. So here is a look at 11 (of the actually better executed) Christmas themed shoes and a cool set of Converse All Star Chuck Taylor stockings.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Custom Converse All Star Chuck Taylors via Amazon.com

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas toddler shoes via eBay.com

Wintery Snowy Christmas womens Hi cut Converse All Star Chuck Taylors by Artouches on Etsy via http://epherielldesigns.com/

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas womens shoes by elizapink on Etsy

Santa Claus and Candy Cane Swarovski crystal Converse Chuck Taylors by Dara43 on Etsy

Womens Candy Cane clogs by dinosaurbox on Etsy

Converse All Star Chuck Taylor Stockings(not real shoes) by creationzbycatherine on Etsy

Toddler Christmas Tree and Lights painted canvas shoes by JLPerillo on Etsy

Santa Claus and Reindeer womens Sugar shoes by dreaminbohemian on Etsy

Believe in Santa Claus and his reindeer womens shoes by dlnquentunicorn on Etsy

The Grinch shoes by Buttercup Customs on Etsy

20 Different Pairs of The Nightmare Before Christmas Custom Shoes

Jack Skellington, “The Pumpkin King” is getting ready for Christmas along with Sally, Oogie Boogie, his dog Zero, Lock, Shock and Barrel in Halloween Town. Join in the fun with a look at 20 different pairs of The Nightmare Before Christmas themed custom shoes. Mens, womens, and kids…canvas and leather…Vans, Converse, and Keds….don’t forget the Nikes, Nordstrom’s high heels and generic ones too. 18 different artists in all. My favorites are the Vans slip ons by Dusk 2 Dawn, which are your favorites?

Vans by Young Hearts Collective