A few years ago, Norwalk resident Matthew Smith was planning a holiday party for his team at work when he stumbled upon the idea of a sneaker painting night in New York City. It sounded fun, but when he took his colleagues, he started thinking of ways it could be even better. “I was sitting there thinking if I were to do this, I’d have a bar, and food, and offer party options…” he tells Westport Lifestyle. Then, last summer, Matthew had some time off between roles and the idea came flooding back to him. “I put a business plan together, and then I called Gregg.”
“Gregg” would be Gregg Self, a longtime friend of Matthew’s and a fellow sneakerhead. He presented the idea and Gregg was immediately on board. “I spent the rest of my time off building out the plan,” Matthew explains. Together, Matthew and Gregg became the co-founders of Kicksmith Studio, a sneaker painting studio in Norwalk that fulfilled the original vision that popped into Matthew’s head during the N.Y.C. party. “Everything you see in the studio was pretty much hand done by us,” Matthew says. “We painted the walls, we built the bar, even the graffiti in the studio was done by a friend we grew up with.”
What makes Kicksmith Studio different from a typical paint-and-sip studio is that it’s more than just a fun thing to do for a few hours— the sneakers become wearable art, and a custom, bespoke form of self-expression is on every pair. “We have this creativity and challenge to turn a sneaker into something else,” says Gregg. “We can try something weird or different, switch an old pair to a new colorway, try something loud, calm something else down—whatever you feel like doing.” In short, there are no creative limits.
Kicksmith offers open classes, parties for kids and adults “ages six to 600,” and private events. (For classes, customers bring their own pairs, but for private events the team can source shoes for guests with sufficient notice.) “I always tell people: I’m not gonna do your shoes for you,” says Gregg. “Our job is to point you in the direction you want to go in. If you want to make a glittery Timberland boot, or make your shoes look like cheeseburgers, or have Cookie Monster on the left one—well, let’s make that happen. I’m here to help get you where you want to go.” Sneaker art peppers the walls to offer inspiration, and a before-and-after shoe set on display when you walk in help people get an idea of how much freedom they truly have to reinvent their sneakers. “We want people to open the door and say, ‘it’s creative time,’” says Gregg.
Under Gregg’s expert guidance (he leads most of the classes), magic happens. “We had one woman come in and freehand Van Gogh’s Starry Night,” recalls Matthew. “It was the greatest pair of sneakers I’ve ever seen.”
The regular adult classes are three-and-a-half hours (kids’ parties are shorter), and not only do Gregg and Matthew say the time usually flies by, but it’s also a unique opportunity to bond doing something creative. Norwalk’s Brien McMahon High School football team, for example, did a team building event at the studio where they customized their cleats earlier this summer. They’ve had bridal showers where the bridesmaids customize shoes to change into for the dancing portion of the wedding, or baby showers where tiny pairs get the Kicksmith treatment.
“There’s that sense of pride,” says Gregg when someone finishes their new kicks. Agrees Matthew: “I love when someone says ‘I didn’t know I could do that.’”
Kicksmith Studio is located at 515 West Ave in Norwalk. For more information or to book a class or party, visit kicksmithstudio.com