Ericko James Ferrer, or EJ, is one of the biggest players in the shoe game. An artist, he specializes in "customs," where he takes classic shoes and turns them into art.
"It's truly been a blessing to not only have the positive feedback from fans, consumers, collectors, what not, but it's also been fun and amazing and humbling to get love from corporate, you know, various other companies," he said.
The 25-year-old opened his own studio gallery this year, a Mecca for sneaker enthusiasts.
The former La Salle College basketball player ventured into this art form as a teenager. His inspiration: professional basketball players and their one-of-a-kind sneakers.
"I always wanted to get my number on the side of a shoe but you couldn't be able to go to Footlocker for it so what I did was I started painting on the side, I put my name on there, or I just put my number and a lot of my friends were like, 'Where did you get those shoes?' So I just started doing their stuff and it really progressed," Ferrer said.
Often called upon by top college basketball players for customs, he has also done work with some of the major companies, including Oregon-based Nike.
"The culture in itself is just so big now, you travel all over the country especially New York, Florida, Texas is huge now. Of course LA, San Francisco, Jersey all throughout even parts of international London and Australia it so big, Philippines of course with all the big name companies there now, doing it big on the marketing side, it's really been a big push," he said.
But not all his sneakers are wearable. Ferrer customized a pair of 10-pound sneakers inspired by the monuments of Washington, D.C.
Since he opened his Lakewood shop, Ferrer continues to make a signature for himself. His latest project, a signature hat line, erickojames.
"It's definitely been a blessing to be successful in my field. It's been a crazy transition on to finally realize, and hey, I'm just gonna say, I'm just gonna put all my eggs in a basket and pursue my art career."
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
