Teenage Duo Helps Peers Walk with Style


Don't you hate when you have the perfect pair of shoes in mind, but, then when you go shopping, every pair is the wrong size, color or style?

If you said yes to the question above, then KickBack Customs is for you. KickBack Customs is a small business run by Lisa Backus, 18, and Wes Harden, 19. Customers contact the pair through their MySpace page, www.myspace.com/kickbackcustoms and place orders by e-mail or MySpace messaging. Previous customers also pass the contact information along to other interested customers.

"We come up with the idea then draw a draft and send them a picture of that. Then they can change whatever they want. Then we'll go out and make the shoes for them," Backus, an interior design freshman at Michigan State University, said in reference to the shoe-customization process.

The price for a pair of shoes from KickBack Customs "depends on the customer and the cost [of the original shoes]," said Backus. Generally the shoes end up being around $70-$100. "There are other companies that charge $200 for the same thing," she added.

Harden and Backus hand-paint the shoes with airbrush paint. Once the design, which can take many sessions, is finished, they spray the shoes with a fixative to prevent fading and water damage.
"We haven't had anyone complain that it has cracked or faded or anything," said Backus.

The idea for KickBack Customs came when Harden, now a graphic design major at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, saw a pair of customized shoes made by the French artist and electronic musician Raoul Sinier, known simply as Ra. Harden said he was "always interested in the custom shoe scene," and after he saw a pair of Ra's custom shoes, he decided to try his hand at making a pair. The shoes that inspired Harden are white slip-on Vans with bright red paint covering the front and outside areas of each shoe. The heels are painted black, and the left shoe has an illustration of four bald creatures resembling monkeys. The shoes can be viewed at http://www.raspage.com/artwork/customizeme.html.

The first pair Harden designed was for his girlfriend at the time, Backus. They were both seniors at Stevenson High School in Livonia when Harden presented Backus with the shoes for Christmas. The shoes were white with black polka dots. Harden painted a white skull with a pink bow atop a sky blue background on each shoe, and the right shoe said, "Wes '05" on the heel while the left heel had hearts on it. After she received the shoes, she made him a pair for his birthday in February.

"I loved the shoes she made me. They were DOPE!" said Harden via www.facebook.com. "They featured a high contrast graphic style depiction of the lead singer of my favorite band (The Dillinger Escape Plan) against a spray painted style backdrop with elements from one of their CD jackets… People LOVED them. I wore those until I started feeling a breeze on my toes."

"We wore them to school, and people were like, 'Make me a pair!'" Backus recalled.
KickBack Customs was born in the summer of 2006 after the pair graduated from Stevenson High School. They realized they both had a talent for customizing shoes. When they began getting frequent compliments and multiple requests for their shoes, they decided to start the business.

"I've been an art kid all my life, and a bit of an exhibitionist, so, naturally, it just clicked on like a light bulb when I realized I could paint shoes and make some really interesting pieces of art that a lot of people were going to see. It became a great way to build our reps as artists," said Harden.

"In the very beginning people bought shoes and just gave them to us [for us to customize]," said Backus, "Occasionally people still want to do that."
Now, however, Backus and Harden usually purchase the shoes for between $35 and $45.

Currently, KickBack Customs is comprised only of Backus and Harden, who are both college freshmen. "As soon as someone can show us the ropes of business and we get more business than we can handle, then we can move forward with expanding," said Harden when asked about plans for expanding the business.

"It's been hard to get established… And stuff with prices has been hard because some people are scared away," said Backus. So far KickBack Customs has sold around 15 pairs of shoes.

Although they only make custom shoes currently, Harden and Backus are planning on adding t-shirts and other accessories to their list of customizations. They have no set date to undertake these new endeavors, but as their website says, "KickBack T-shirts and Accessories are on the way!

Renee Muller, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Michigan, purchased a pair of shoes from KickBack Customs in August 2006.
"I absolutely loved the finished shoes. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect because I gave a little idea of what I wanted. She [Backus] then drew up the draft and asked how I liked it and then went ahead on the shoes," said Muller via www.facebook.com. "I think they turned out amazing. I get so many compliments on them. They're probably my favorite pair of shoes."

Muller, a nursing major, paid $30 plus the price of the original shoes. "At first I thought $30 may have been a little high… but they are hand done and she did an amazing job so I would say they are worth it," Muller said.
KickBack Customs painted purple, blue and black plaid on the front of both of Muller's shoes. The right shoe has three yellow stars painted over the plaid, and the left shoe has one, large yellow star on the toe.

Harden had a few last words for anyone looking to pursue their own ambitions: "You have to have some confidence and take pride in your idea, and people will listen to what you have to say, and you will confirm that it was, in fact, a great idea. These simple things in life can really bring you great pleasure."

To view the shoes mentioned above as well as the other pairs Backus and Harden have customized visit their website, www.myspace.com/kickbackcustoms. Interested customers can contact the duo at KickBackCustoms@gmail.com.




*This article was written by Liz Steyer (Michigan State University)
Thanks Liz!