"Samurai's Blade"

You may remember my update from last month featuring "The Samurai" Custom Figure (which also featured some pics from the Conception Tribeca II show)..well, my original plan was to include a pair of custom sneakers in the show display to go along with the Samurai figure but between filling a customer order or two & prepping ideas for other projects, I kinda knew I wouldn't have time to make the shoes in time...or at least not be able to make them with the level of quality I really wanted to. So I decided to put the idea on the shelf for a bit until I was ready to present it peoperly.

I originally drew up a sketch for this idea sometime around early 4th quarter of last year but as i've done before with ideas before, I ended up putting it aside to do something else (believe it or not, I have concept sketches dating back to 2003 that haven't been released..I have enough ideas now to carry me through the next 2 years at least (not even counting the newer stuff). I should tweak some of that old stuff and bring it to life!). Anyway, here's the shoe that I call "Samurai's Blade":








And just because the two look so great together.....




(Note: Samurai figure is not included with shoe)

Creating this particular design was a very time consuming yet extremely fun project. I wanted the shoe to capture the feel of the Samurai of ancient Japan culture and the fancy kitana blade that they would carry as their weapon of choice. The symbol on the rear and back of the shoe is the Kanji symbol (a form of Japanese writing) for "Samurai", so I felt that the symbol would be perfect for the shoe as it relates to the theme perfectly.

This shoe is available for purchase at the link here.

Lasting Power

The questions I get asked often about my custom shoes is "Are the shoes waterproof/will the paint come off in the rain?". Having answered this question often over the years (and know i'll be addressing it again in the future), I figured i'd make a quick blog about it with a little example.

Now here's a pair of customs I made for myself back in 2009:



As you can see, the shoes are obviously new in this photo (tried to find a pic of these without the logo tag on them but couldn't).

Since this picture was taken, these shoes have been worn more times than I can count. They've been worn in the rain, snow (and not just light snow..i'm talking major Noreaster type snow as well!) and i've done just about everything & gone everywhere in them! Here's a picture of those same shoes today (this pic was taken about 4 days before this blog update & not altered in any way):



As mentioned before, these shoes have been given quite a workout in these past 3 years and the paint work is still in tact. Now i'm usually not hard on my shoes at all..in fact, i'm one of those people who likes to clean his shoes after each wear, stores them back in the box, keeps a clean pair of laces in them, etc., but for whatever reason I kinda just "let loose" on this pair (lol). Nowadays I only wear this pair when i'm just out to run errands and when i'm not "freshly dressed". Also, you'll notice there's no cracking despite all the creases in the shoes (it also helps that it's a well made factory shoe of course).

So to answer the question(s), they won't crack or peel, and yes...they're waterproof! :)

"Ladybug" custom high heels & purse set

Lately a lot of interest has been shown in the custom high heels...from displays at art shows (one of which gained me a sale of a pair) to interest from as far as Scotland (thank you Mhairi!). Many of these have been 1-of-1 styles but recently I received an email from someone asking why certain styles weren't available in multiple sizes. From that email came the idea to come up with a plan to produce more than one pair of a particular style (more on that in a moment). However, the inspiration did not stop there (more on that in a moment also).

Originally I just planned to do a simple limited edition pair of heels, however, my close friend, the same one who came up with the "Purple Haze" name for my previous pair of heels, gave me not only inspiration for enhancing my idea, but since I was having trouble coming up with a clever name for the shoes (which i'm usually good at but hit a wall with these) even gave me an awesome name for them (love you Nina..thank you again!).

Thus, the "Ladybug" custom high heels were born:



And while the shoes are great by themselves, it needed that certain something to go with them. It's pretty well know most ladies like to have that perfect accessory to match that perfect pair of heels soooooo......



.....in comes the matching custom purse! Each order of the Ladybug custom heels includes a matching purse signed by the artist (me):



Now as far as the limited edition thing, there are only FIVE pairs in existence...yes, you heard right..five! Each of the 5 pairs was made in a different size and each comes with a matching purse. This project is basically a test run to see the response that a project like this will receive. Basically, if this does well then more custom heel styles will be made in multiple runs (and maybe even more of this particular style). Plans are in the works to come up with more custom heels & accessories for the ladies going into the spring & summer months..so support is definitely needed! The Ladybug custom set goes on sale on February 20th (Monday) in the online store at the link below the pics.




Click here to order the Ladybug custom set

"Jinx" Custom womens Adidas & custom vinyl toy

Introducing the "Jinx" custom womens shell toe Adidas!

Originally this shoe was supposed to be part of a 3-shoe series I planned on releasing last year, which was gonna be 2 mens pairs of sneakers and 1 ladies pair, each to include a different custom 4 inch toy as well. The series ended up never being released as I wasn't totally happy with the final sketches I made for all the pairs and since I had moved on to other projects, I never got around to re-doing any of the sketch ideas. By this time I had already made all 3 figures (i'll probably show the other 2 at a later time..maybe when I do a blog about some of my "unreleased rarities") and had already made the ladies shoe as well (which you see here), which were the only pair of the 3 that I was satisfied with. They sat in my closet for almost a year before deciding to break them out to show at the Conception Tribeca II show and now they're available for purchase!





Only a small run of these will be made and are available in womens sizes only. To order, click the link here.

http://www.ecentrik.bigcartel.com/product/jinx-custom-adidas-superstar-w-custom-figure

"That Guy From That Other Picture"

The odd little guy from the "Stroll" picture makes his return..this time on a paint canvas! The painting's aptly titled "That Guy From That Other Picture" and was done with acrylic on a 16 x 20 canvas. He's an unnamed character that I used to include in a few random drawings I did in the past just for fun. I even went thru a few old sneaker pics and just remembered putting his face on a pair I made about 2-3 years ago (check the rear of shoe):



This painting was originally made to be displayed (and possibly sold) at an art show but unfortunately circumstances kept that from happening, so in the meantime I may just keep this one & put it up on my wall tonight! :)

"Beautiful Dreams" (aka Purple Haze) Custom Heels + Painting Set

Keeping up with the custom heels/painting theme, here's another pair to add to the collection. The original title is "Beautiful Dreams", but a close, dear friend gave these the name "Purple Haze" (which seems a lot more fitting). These were originally done for display in an art show but will most likely be added to the online store for sale. The painting is 11 x 14 done with acrylics, and the shoes are a size 6.5 US. Email info@ecentrikart.net for info.

"Ocean Haze" Dunk Low (1-of-1)

These are some custom dunks I made for my own personal collection. I call them "Ocean Haze" mainly because of the different shades of blue used in the shoes and how those shades combined with the overlaying black pattern reminds me of ocean waters and how the shades of blue fade in and out. I got the overall colorway idea from the Playstation Air Force Ones that came out years ago (of which I even did my own remake 2 years ago) but wanted to take that colorway (minus the yellow) and do my own design.

More Pics:





I even signed the back of the shoe!