The first pair of shoes that Adam Chouinard designed were made out of duct tape and cardboard. He was 10 years old.
Chouinard is now a senior Graphic Design student at Castleton and he has sold more than 60 pairs of shoes since beginning his business, ChewCustoms. His desire to pursue a career in design, as well as making shoes began during the gap year he took after high school. During this time, Chouinard held a variety of jobs, including working the counter at an auto parts store and maintaining the pin setting machines at a bowling alley.
“This involvement in a number of things I knew I didn’t want to do focused my mind on the things that I did want to do. I loved shoes and have always had a seemingly innate talent with any artistic utensil I picked up. A year dedicated to self-reflection allowed my mind to combine the two,” he said.
Over the years, Chouinard has grown and developed ChewCustoms as his own skills have evolved. It began strictly as a sneaker customization service where clients would bring him a pair of shoes and he would prepare them, then use leather paint or acrylics with additives to create durable designs.
“Currently, I continue to customize shoes, but have also taken on much more daunting projects such as deconstructing sneakers to replace the original materials with alternative ones. With graduation closing in, the diversification of my business as an educational experience has been a way for me to expand my portfolio with the intentions of working in the product design field after school,” he said.
For Chouinard, the freedom that comes from being able to follow his own path as a designer is one of the best parts of being in business.
“Especially at this point in my education and career as a designer and artist it is undeniably important to me that I discover and develop my personal style,” he said. “Creating my own products allows for me to develop and reflect my personal experience, which I believe is essential in order for me to connect to my audience in a meaningful way.”