On a trip to A.C. Moore, junior Jackie Simpson spotted canvas shoes for sale and had an idea.

Now, Simpson is actively bringing plain shoes to life while using her passion for art in her shoe decorating business, Custom Canvas.

“I’ve decorated Converse before, but they’re so expensive that it wasn’t really something I could keep up,” Simpson said. “I ended up finding a wholesale place where I could buy the shoes in bulk.”

Simpson said she began decorating shoes this past July and has been trying to get her name out ever since.

“Basically, anyone that’s interested will reach out to me, tell me their shoe size, and give me a theme. I’ve gotten bohemian or Zentangles or Mandalas,” Simpson said. “So I just take what they give me and I ask them for a color scheme … and I take those basic things and interpret them in my own way and see what happens.”

Simpson also made up a few designs on her own. She said one pair of shoes takes her 20 hours to make. She said that creating art is “very therapeutic.”

As Simpson continues to pursue her artistic passion she said she is skeptical of her current psychology major.

“I had an epiphany that that’s not really what I should be doing, so I looked into Newhouse graphic design. I’m applying for the spring,” Simpson said. “I don’t want to be a therapist anymore. I do want to incorporate art into my future.”

She said her dream job would be to design for Lilly Pulitzer.

As of right now, Simpson works on her business just to make some money. However, she said she hopes to watch it grow in the future.

“I’ve seen how girls can transform small ideas into big things just like Melissa [from Baked by Melissa cupcakes], who went to Syracuse,” Simpson said. “You never know what could take off.”

Published on October 5, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact: moberger@syr.edu