Andrea Nguyen said she never thought of herself as a talented painter until this past summer.
But when Nguyen posted photos of her hand-painted jeans on social media, a friend requested a pair of custom painted shoes. Nguyen, a second-year mathematics/economics student, said she took on the challenge, improving her painting and eventually launching her business Rush Hour Kicks in August.
Keyshawn Thomas began helping Nguyen with the marketing and social media for Rush Hour Kicks, after letting her practice on his own shoes to create a pop art drip design on top of blue and yellow high-top Nike Air Force 1s.
Since then, Nguyen has also designed UCLA-themed sliders, sports team-themed shoes, including the Raiders and Chicago Bulls, pop art shoes and most recently, embroidered rose shoes. As a self-taught artist, Nguyen said learning how to work with shoe materials, shoe paints and different techniques like shading and mixing colors was a completely new experience for her.
“Painting shoes is hard because you want it to be crisp and you have to be very careful,” she said, “Learning the technique and discipline as an impatient person was hard because I had to be patient in my work to paint details.”
But after growing discouraged from slow business, Nguyen said she took about a two-week break from customizing shoes for Rush Hour Kicks.
Thomas said he encouraged her to take the break so she could come back as a stronger artist and with fresh ideas.
“You can’t make a million dollars in one day,” Thomas said, “The fact that she was going through this rough patch meant she cares about the art and when she came out of it, the art came out looking twice as good.”
During her break, Thomas said he noticed an improvement in Nguyen’s designs and shoe-painting abilities through her increased attention to detail and ability to blend colors. His favorite shoe by Nguyen is her latest edition of red rose-embroidered and sewn hightop vans.
“When she showed me a shoe she had worked on after her break, I was like, ‘Woah, this is the best one you’ve made,’” Thomas said, “And I’ve been saying that after every new pair she puts up.”
After about six more shoes, Nguyen said she was able to see a difference in her shoes and work habits, growing faster and more efficient in painting. A pop art design used to take her six hours, but now she can finish the same design in half the time.
“The techniques I used to use to paint the shoes made them look clunky and it didn’t look like it was professional,” she said. “My painting on shoes has become much smoother and polished and I’ve become more attentive to details.”
Nguyen said she has also noticed improvements in her patience for including details. The details are especially apparent in a pair of UCLA sliders that helped generate more custom orders, she said.
Nicky Lambis, a third-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student, said he was impressed when he saw Nguyen’s sliders on Twitter and asked Nguyen to create another pair on a black base for him.
“I was going to ask for something more specific, but after seeing her other shoes I figured she would probably do way better than anything I could ask for,” Lambis said.
The sliders feature a vivid yellow “UC” on the right shoe and a blue “LA” on the left, with UCLA’s Bruin mascot on each side.
“The bear looks insane,” Lambis said. “I have no idea how she was able to do that.”
Chris Pohndorf ordered a Raiders-themed pair of sliders after discovering Nguyen’s shoe business on Twitter. On the right side, quarterback Derek Carr holds a football midthrow while the left side features a diagonal banner reading “RAIDERS” and the team’s logo.
“It looks just like a picture, and I was shocked at how much detail was put into it,” Pohndorf said. “It hit exactly what I was looking for.”
Nguyen said she hopes to continue her shoe business and move into the fashion industry, eventually creating her own clothing and shoe line as well as customized furniture.
“Already in a month I can see that I’ve improved and that progress makes me feel proud of myself,” Nguyen said. “I love seeing other people being happy with my work, but most of all me being happy with my work and growing more confident about my pieces.”