On Nov 10, the Vans store at the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne NJ hosted a live shoe design contest, Van’s College Customization Studio. The contest was open to local college students who had to submit a sample of their artwork before they began. Thirty students from NJ colleges, including Montclair and Rutgers, were given a pair of plain white Vans to draw on. In sets of ten, the artists drew what they could in an hour and then attendees were able to vote on their favorites.
Three top prize winners were chosen from the groups of ten based on the votes from attendees, many of whom were friends and family of the artists or people who just stopped in out of curiosity. The winners each got a code for a free pair of shoes! Everyone that participated got to go home with their customized, artistically beautiful pair of shoes.
The whole idea behind the contest is to both support local artists and to allow artists to showcase their work in a unique way. The sheer diversity of artwork can be seen by how much people can do with only a few colored markers and a pencil. The shoe designs ranged from Batman to sunsets, all of which turned out wonderful in the end.
Hopefully the contest will come back to Willowbrook next year to see more artists showcasing what they can do. Remember to always support your local artist!