Fredericton Man Develops Side Hustle Doing Custom Designs On Sneakers
FREDERICTON— Last January, Matthew Russell came across a photo on Instagram of a pair of custom-designed shoes that caught his attention. He decided to design a pair of sneakers for himself and posted them online – which led to people requesting he design them a custom pair as well.
He started doing some requested designs for his friends, and through word of mouth, more people started reaching out to him. All his custom designs are posted on his Instagram @russ_customs.
“I just kept having ideas and it just hasn’t stopped since then,” says Russell.
Most of the shoes he does for people are in the Fredericton area, but Russell has also sent a couple of pairs to Ontario and Mexico.
He said he does not have a background in this type of work, it is just something he does for fun during his weekends.
As for the time it takes to do the designs, it depends on what customers are requesting.
“Usually, I try to tell people like two or three weeks after the shoes get here,” he says.
Russell said he usually books about four or five custom designs at once.
A simple design of adding colours to a pair of shoes, including the time it takes to prep them can take around three to four hours, at the shortest. But he has done other custom pairs that have taken him 60 to 70 hours.
Russell does not keep extra shoes on hand, people either order the specific shoe they want their custom design on, or they ask Russell if he can find it for them and he will do the ordering process for them.
While there isn’t a specific type of shoe he solely does the artwork on, Russell said shoes with leather work the best because there is a good surface and holds well with wear. He said he can also work on shoes like Vans and Converse, just not anything with rubber material.
His prices also depend on what he is doing on the shoe. He said a lot of the “really crazy stuff” that is shown on the shoes on his Instagram are shoes for himself, which are time-consuming.
For customers, prices usually start around $100, plus the price of the shoe if he is ordering for the customer. He said the most expensive pair he has done so far was perhaps around $400.
Russell does not only do custom designs on shoes, but he has also been working on other surfaces recently, like Xbox controllers, computer mouses, and wallets.
He said he has worked with maybe 100 people and has done about 20 custom designs for himself.
As for the future of Russ Customs, Russell said a lot of the bigger people who do custom designs are not in Canada, they are all in the United States.
“It’s almost like you’re buying a premium shoe. You’re paying a lot of money but you’re getting something that’s really good,” he says.
Russell wants to keep practicing, growing his online presence and getting to a point where his photos are really good and he has all the equipment he wants. He said also would like to expand his business eventually.
Jessica Saulnier is an intern with Huddle in Fredericton. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].