Customised kicks: North Macedonia sneaker artist sketches new path

SKOPJE - From a makeshift studio in a cramped apartment in North Macedonia's Skopje, Satja Grabuloski has made his mark as one of the top sneaker artists in the world.  

With more than 300 celebrities as customers, Grabuloski has taken orders from famous athletes, actors, and musicians -- including Lebron James and Dua Lipa.

Using an array of paints, Grabuloski and his team of seven artists turn ordinary shoes into works of art -- featuring portraits of famous celebrities, film characters and sports stars along with splashes of vibrant colours.  

"Sometimes they call us with a specific idea. Sometimes they say, I have no idea -- make me a good design. We then do whatever it takes to make the client satisfied," Grabuloski tells AFP as he prepares a shipment of customised football cleats for Real Madrid's winger Vinícius Junior. 

A single pair of revamped sneakers painted by his team Swithadot StudioS fetches a starting price at around 1,000 euros ($1,050).

The growing enterprise first started as a hobby for Grabuloski, who remembers using a paint kit his mother bought from Paris to ink patterns on a pair of shoes when he was 12. 

More than a decade later, Grabuloski was putting custom designs on sneakers with a permanent marker. The method proved to be a hit with his first batch of shoes selling out in 24 hours. 

"That showed me… there is a potential business idea that I am still building and developing today," he adds. 

Grabuloski also honed in on targeting athletes and found initial success with painting shoes for handball clubs and popular footballers. 

All the designs made by his team at Swithadot StudioS are unique, according to Grabuloski, with clients given certifications of authenticity and a short note on the ideas behind the artwork. 

"Every project includes up to 80 hours of work, but some of the designs, for example sport shoes that were done for Lebron James were being prepared for more than 300 hours," says Grabuloski, while laughing that the massive size of the star player's shoes led to more work.  

For now, Grabuloski plans to stay and work in North Macedonia, despite longer shipping times due to the limited number of flights in and out of the Balkan country.