FUNKY FEET- ALLIE BARNES
By: Nikki Bonner, Editor
Eighteen-year-old Allison Barnes discovered her love for painting shoes the summer before her senior year. She first painted orange and blue zig zags which were created by experimenting with duct tape, glue, and paint. From that point on, Barnes fell in love with painting creative designs on canvas shoes.
The inspiration came from her fondness of funky clothes. While shopping on bucketfeed.com, she found the shoes she liked were around $78. Not willing to spend so much, she decided she would rather create her own shoes with the perk of being able to customize them. Perfecting the ideas for her shoes can take Barnes up to one week, while the actual drawing and painting of each pair typically takes about two and a half hours.
The senior stated, “I really like my worldly pineapple shoes because they are so bright and make me happy to wear.” At this point, Barnes has painted over sixty pairs of shoes.
Barnes has had a long artistic past. She has enjoyed painting and currently, does many spontaneous paintings. In school, she takes sculpture and advanced drawing classes. She looks up to artist Rene Magritte because he uses objects where they would not normally be found.
Barnes feels the full support of her family and community. When she finishes a new pair of shoes, the senior will send a picture to her brother, an alumni of Boiling Springs High School, Brendan Barnes because he enjoys seeing them so much. Her parents are also very supportive and admire the detail she includes in each pair.
With low costs for each pair of shoes, Barnes provides a way to be unique for less. Barnes charges $20 per pair, when shoes are provided for her. However, if Barnes purchases the shoes and paints them, it costs $25 for the girls and $30 for guys due to the differing prices of canvas shoes. The typical shoes that Barnes prefers are purchased from Walmart and cost around $5 for girls and $10 for guys.
Although she said, “I put a lot of time and effort into them,” She does not see a reason for these prices to increase in the near future. In addition to just word of mouth sales, Barnes will soon have a customizable Etsy account where customers can message her with design requests.
At the present time, Barnes has painted for at least twelve students in the high school. The first three pairs of shoes that were sold were actually purchased in Canada by friends of hers. Besides BSHS, Barnes has created shoes for homeschoolers, Carlisle High School students, residents from the New York area, and students at the University of Pittsburgh. Barnes frequently makes shoes for gifts and has created them for coaches, boyfriends, and even toddlers. The senior herself wears her creations typically four to five times a week.
Barnes said, “ They are really comfortable and you can wear them with pretty much everything. I wore them to swimming districts and it is fun to watch people look at my shoes and see if they should ask me about them. Then when they do, it is cool to be able to tell people I made them.”
Barnes plans to continue pursuing her hobby in college. She plans to attend either Virginia Commonwealth University or the University of Dayton next year. While visiting the University of Dayton, Barnes said she looked up the closest Walmart so that she would have have easy access to supplies just like in her hometown.
Eighteen-year-old Allison Barnes discovered her love for painting shoes the summer before her senior year. She first painted orange and blue zig zags which were created by experimenting with duct tape, glue, and paint. From that point on, Barnes fell in love with painting creative designs on canvas shoes.
The inspiration came from her fondness of funky clothes. While shopping on bucketfeed.com, she found the shoes she liked were around $78. Not willing to spend so much, she decided she would rather create her own shoes with the perk of being able to customize them. Perfecting the ideas for her shoes can take Barnes up to one week, while the actual drawing and painting of each pair typically takes about two and a half hours.
The senior stated, “I really like my worldly pineapple shoes because they are so bright and make me happy to wear.” At this point, Barnes has painted over sixty pairs of shoes.
Barnes has had a long artistic past. She has enjoyed painting and currently, does many spontaneous paintings. In school, she takes sculpture and advanced drawing classes. She looks up to artist Rene Magritte because he uses objects where they would not normally be found.
Barnes feels the full support of her family and community. When she finishes a new pair of shoes, the senior will send a picture to her brother, an alumni of Boiling Springs High School, Brendan Barnes because he enjoys seeing them so much. Her parents are also very supportive and admire the detail she includes in each pair.
With low costs for each pair of shoes, Barnes provides a way to be unique for less. Barnes charges $20 per pair, when shoes are provided for her. However, if Barnes purchases the shoes and paints them, it costs $25 for the girls and $30 for guys due to the differing prices of canvas shoes. The typical shoes that Barnes prefers are purchased from Walmart and cost around $5 for girls and $10 for guys.
Although she said, “I put a lot of time and effort into them,” She does not see a reason for these prices to increase in the near future. In addition to just word of mouth sales, Barnes will soon have a customizable Etsy account where customers can message her with design requests.
At the present time, Barnes has painted for at least twelve students in the high school. The first three pairs of shoes that were sold were actually purchased in Canada by friends of hers. Besides BSHS, Barnes has created shoes for homeschoolers, Carlisle High School students, residents from the New York area, and students at the University of Pittsburgh. Barnes frequently makes shoes for gifts and has created them for coaches, boyfriends, and even toddlers. The senior herself wears her creations typically four to five times a week.
Barnes said, “ They are really comfortable and you can wear them with pretty much everything. I wore them to swimming districts and it is fun to watch people look at my shoes and see if they should ask me about them. Then when they do, it is cool to be able to tell people I made them.”
Barnes plans to continue pursuing her hobby in college. She plans to attend either Virginia Commonwealth University or the University of Dayton next year. While visiting the University of Dayton, Barnes said she looked up the closest Walmart so that she would have have easy access to supplies just like in her hometown.