Get 'em In!

So it's October - another season has ended, so I thought I'd do a lil update. The Green Day sneakers turned out to be a hit and I'm gearing up to start another pair of customs for tradework. I'm very excited to do these because the payoff is well worth it. Stay tuned :)

As you know, this is my sneaker blog and for the first time -- there are pictures of apparel! Just like I do customs for my niece, I also do graphics and custom tees too. I'll make her fun tees or tanks or "KB" tees (if you know me, you know KB), or a prep-swagg cardigan sweater like the one in the pictures below. I love this sweater!! It's got the year she was born and her initials in Old English caps. The front has the "Rep U" logo, and on the back is one of my fave lines "we run styles, no styles no run we". If any of you think you may know a little one who may wanna rock the cardi with their own year and initials, let me know about ordering one.

On the same note, with fall officially here, Christmas is right around the corner. For those who have been keepin' up on my blog (first off, thanks!) and those who know me, know that I do a pair of customs for my niece every year for her December birthday. I've done a pair for every year that she's been born. This year she will be 5, so the 5th pair is coming. With that said, I've got some open slots for orders if you've got some customs in mind for your own niece or nephew or kids :) Time flies, so I wanna put it out there. Lemme know! Thanks!

Green Day 2010

Green Day means --- GREAT DAY! It's always a great day when sneakers are involved. It's so great to be getting back into doing these customs :)

My cousin Trish's son Reese is quite the musician. He's a pretty talented drummer and Green Day is an all-time favorite of his. What better theme for sneakers than "Green Day"!

Reese would always ask questions about my sneakers, and finally he asked me to do a pair for him. We worked out a deal and here is the finished product! 4 sides on the adidas Pro Models gave me more than enough room to work with. Reese and I talked about specifics and I was able to incorporate 3 top albums that Reese liked: Dookie, 21st Century Breakdown, and American Idiot. The fourth side was a simple band logo.

Each side is pretty different, drawing from each album, but it all comes together for some rockin' Green Day sneaks!! Reese and fam live up in the Bay and I just happen to be going up for a few days. Just a plane ride from San Diego, these will be hand-delivered :)

The "Dookie" side was a lot of fun mimicking that cartoon-feel of the cover. The plane and explosion cloud were fun to draw. The "21st Century Breakdown" side was cool too cuz I liked the abstract skulls. Overall, it was nice to do this mix, but still having it all go together. Hopefully Reese digs 'em :)

Update: Mia meets Mulan

Happy Birthday Mia! Today I received this picture message from my cousin Paul. By the look on Mia's face, I'm happy to see the ballet flats were a hit --- or a kick! :) Great extension Mia - lol!

Mu-loooooong Time, but I'm Back!

Wow...that was cheesy...and wow, I've been outta the game for some time now! It's September 2010! Lot's have happened and kept me away, but hopefully I'll be in a better routine to get back in. And what better way to get re-started, then a pair of Mulan-themed customs!! I love Disney movies and these are for my cousin's daughter Mia :)

My cousin Paul has always talked about me doing a pair of customs for Mia, but it never came to pass. Finally, we got it together and planned it out -- pretty easily. Mia's birthday is Sept. 13 and Paul wanted something "princess-y" but "strong" -- and then he said "MULAN"! Knowing Mia, this soon to be 5 year old, didn't seem like the typical sneaker girl and I knew I had to fit her little growing style. I found some pretty dope adidas ballet flats with metallic gold stripes that are right up her alley. The real estate on the flats led for a lot creativity to maximize the space.

We've got Mulan on both shoes, dragon rockets, Cri-Kee the Cricket, cherry blossoms and the sword handle. I kept in strictly "Mulan", rather than "birthday-ing it up" and I think all the elements work together. I mailed them off last week up to the Bay Area, and yesterday I received a text from Paul saying he got them and they looked great! Yah! :) Hopefully Mia feels the same and enjoys her upcoming birthday next week! Happy Birthday Mia!

Ya Man! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Sneakerheads and regular-heads (lol) alike :)

For work, we had a secret santa gift exchange and I pulled Martin's name out of the hat. Martin is one of the new guys at work and he has the cutest lil' 9 month old baby Imri. Martin loves reggae, has dread halfway down his back, and also works at a reggae record shop. I figured rasta baby customs for Imri would be a cool exchange gift.

I've done Rasta sneakers before, so I just scaled it down. We've got Imri's name, the Zion Lion, and fun rasta colors. Martin was pretty stoked and I'm excited to hear how baby Imri likes them! Picture to come soon :)

Merry Christmas again! Eat lots and wear your best sneaks to show out!

My Zebraface is 4!

Happy Birthday Jasmine! My neice Jasmine turned 4 on the 20th and, once again, another pair of customs :)

She LOOOOVES animals and loves Marty from the movie Madagascar. This year's model: Zebra! Stan Smiths are the perfect style and I think they turned out pretty "wild"! lol! We've got Marty, the "Madagascar" title, zebra print and a city-to-island-scape with a famous Marty quotation "This place is crackalacking!" They will go great with the matching zebra print jacket that my mom got her as well...it'll be zebra all over!!

Happy Birthda Jazzy!

Babykicks for Babycakes!

Now that I've gotten a chance to roam around San Diego a bit, I've come across lots of spots to eat. In Hillcrest, there is a pretty dope place called Babycakes. It's a chill little dessert/coffee shop that does cakes, cookies, cupcakes, coffee, or you can grab a beer or some wine.

A lot of the customs I've done are actually little sneakers for kids or babies...so I decided to do a pair of baby kicks for Babycakes! They didn't ask me to, but I thought it would be a fun way to low-key advertise and a cool thing for them to have. Besides, I'm a big cupcake fan :)

Today, my buddy Greg and I went to Babycakes to give them the sneaks. First thing's first, I had the "white bottom" cupcake with the cream cheese frosting. It had raspberries and chocolate in the cupcake....it was good! I talked with one of the guys who worked there and gave him the sneakers. Unforunately the owner had just stepped out, but overall I was happy to have done them. What they decide to do with the sneakers is up to them, but maybe I'll get a few more bites for baby kicks :)

One of my other favorite spots in Hillcrest is Figi Yogurt on University. No joke, I think I'm in there once a week and get the same combo of yogurts and toppings (if you want to know the combo I'll tell you - lol.) Maybe that'll be my next pair... For real though, Figi Yogurt is bomb!

Geez, next thing you know I'll be telling you all the spots that are good with restaurant reviews!! If that's the case, go to Terra for their lobster macaroni and cheese, and then to the Ruby Kitchen, where my buddy Greg cooks. Everything is good there and they are open late!

Rock it out Hillcrest!

Sneakers Go Great with a Barong and a White Dress

My cousin Trish and her husband Dennis have been married for 13 years. They never got to have their church wedding, so this past June they finally had the ceremony they always wanted. Trish told me that ever since she saw the movie "Father of the Bride" she wanted bridal sneakers, and how convenient that she finally knew someone to do some for her!!

The wedding was in Tahoe and it was awesome! I did a pair for both Dennis and Trish to wear during the reception. They picked out the Stan Smith sneaker and pretty much gave me freedom to design it however I wanted. The only things they really wanted were a specific smiley face logo that was also printed on their wedding souvenirs and the colors to go with the wedding theme: shades of blue. The outsides of the sneakers had their last name "Villafranca" and the smiley face logo, and the insides of the sneakers had "husband" and "wife" respectively on each shoe. The inside of the other sneakers matched the wedding "save-the-date" card with the drawing of the church on the hill, and I added a rising sun accent. I kept the colors to mainly navy and silver. Trish and Dennis were really happy with how they came out. I was happy to do it for them and actually turned out to be a decent wedding present :) Congrats Trish and Dennis!! Love you both!

We've got a Winner!

A few days ago, I got an email updating me on how Kyle liked his birthday kicks. The picture says it best! Apparently he loves the Gordon the Train sneakers and wants to wear them all the time :) That's so cool!

That made my week for sure! Happy Birthday again buddy!

Hello from Daygo with a Deuce Pack to Match!

So I'm officially all moved in down here in San Diego. I'm pretty much settled in but still adjusting to my new city. SD is pretty chill and decorating a new place is always fun. Getting started up on sneakers again is great! Moving and unpacking and setting everything up took a loooong time, but it's good to be back to work :)

My first job after the big move was a Stan Smith 2-pack. I got a call from "Swagg Central" about a girl who wanted to get customs for her nephew's 3rd birthday. We exchanged a few emails and got the ball rolling. The first pair were "Gordon the Big Express" - themed. Kyle is a big fan and we decided to do them the same way I did the "Thomas" sneakers. We've got Gordon, Kyle's name, Gordon's name and a track design. The back heels have a star and the #4 because that's what number train he is.


The second pair of sneakers were more of a challenge. They are "Manchester United" sneakers, which I thought was a really cool idea. Thus far, all the kid sneakers I've done are kid-related with cartoon characters. The crest, luckily, wasn't too complex, but the placement on the shoe was a bit tricky. The sneakers have the crest on the outside toe of both shoes and little Kyle's initials on the inside of both shoes. Add "Glory, Glory Man United!" and we've got the perfect little sneakers for a true Man-U fan!

I think they both came out pretty cool and I am delivering them next week. Kyle's birthday party is May 30th so I hope the little guy likes them :) Happy Birthday Kyle!