Check out these cool kicks! Exclusively made by New Yorker Samantha Handler. KicksBySammy is her own custom design company where she custom designs sneakers, blankets, pillowcases, and more. 

New Yorker Samantha (Sammy) Handler always loved hand-drawn artwork. Sketching on paper wasn’t enough, so she decided to launch her own custom design company,KicksBySammy, inspired by her love of drawing. For about five years, Handler’s been designing super colorful, unique, custom sneakers, blankets, pillowcases, and more, that you won’t find at your campus Barnes & Noble. (She designs for babies, too!)

We chatted with Sammy about her Instagram-worthy work, how she launched her business, and the charity that’s near and dear to her heart.

How did KicksBySammy get started?

In 2013, my senior year of high school, I found a pair of old Keds in my closet and I wanted to create some tailgate spiritwear so I ended up decorating them with University of Maryland logos and different things that I enjoyed about school. I posted those on Instagram and it built up from there. Friends and family started contacting me for a pair shoes. Once those got around town, people nationwide started reaching out to me for custom shoes. That’s why I made myself, my business, KicksBySammy. The shoes are fully customized, and hand drawn. Each pair is completely unique and one-of-a-kind. In my senior year of college, I started also designing blankets, pillows, pillow cases, towels... all those accessory products.

What are your best-selling products for college students?

The fuzzy blankets and towel wraps have been very popular for the dorms. It’s something unique, and colorful and fun.

How can customers best take care of their KicksBySammy shoes?

I wouldn’t recommend throwing them in the washing machine. It’ll fade the color. I spray them so they’re water-resistant. You can wear them in the rain and in the grass, but handle them with as much care as possible. They’re a piece of artwork.

Can you explain your production process when an order is placed?

For shoes: people send in requests. If my waitlist isn’t long, they’re added to it. They ship me shoes, and I usually have a 1 to 2 month turn-around time. Clients give me ideas, or a list of things they want included. Then, I just get creative from there! For online orders: each order is custom to order. If it involves personalization (name, etc...) then I hand-draw the added elements and the order immediately goes in! My warehouse does production and shipping; orders take about 2 weeks. All the designs on our site are hand-drawn by me.

Tell us about the charitable part of your business.

Ten percent of my proceeds go to the The Lustgarten Foundation for pancreatic cancer. My grandma died of pancreatic cancer about 15 years ago, so it’s a really important cause to my family and me, personally. It’s important to give back, especially when I’m doing something I love to do.

What did you study at The University of Maryland?

I was a psychology and business major. I took art classes on the side. I was always creative but never really thought about it as a future. All of college I was decorating my shoes and once senior year came around, and I started actually thinking about what I wanted to do with my life, I thought: “I need to see if I can make this business expand.” So, I created a business plan. Senior year kind of sparked my courage; it wasn’t my plan throughout college. I’ve just always been passionate about it as a side hobby.

What advice do you have for teens who are interested in art or entrepreneurship?

Something that’s really helped me is networking. Even before I knew I wanted to do this, my whole time at college, I spoke to people in different industries. I always sought out mentors and people in the creative industry to help brainstorm ideas and listening to their personal advice as entrepreneurs about their strengths and weaknesses and what they find works and doesn’t. In general, it’s a lot of hard work. I have no boss telling me I have to work. You have to be very internally motivated as an entrepreneur.

What have you learned about yourself as a businesswoman?

I learned I am more self-driven than I ever thought. I work hard, am willing to learn, am open to advice, and have ambition! I have also learned that as a businesswoman it is okay to make mistakes and fail. My most important learning experiences have been from my mistakes. I am able to grow from them, learn what to do better next time and, push myself harder.

Who is your career role model, and why?

I don’t have a specific figure in mind, but I look up to so many powerful, successful, creative, entrepreneurial girl bosses! My art role models and inspirations are pop- artists like Andy Warhol, Olivier Rizzo, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein. These artists have inspired me with their bright, fun style.

What can we expect to see from your line in the future?

I want to continue to push my creative boundaries! I envision a bunch of possibilities. I would love to expand my product line for my baby, camp, college collection, but also collaborate more with corporate companies for promotional products, client gifting, event artwork, and so forth.

Would you ever consider moving into the retail space, for example, selling your art/designs/accessories at Bed, Bath, and Beyond?

Some products I am selling in small boutiques and clothing stores! Currently, I only sell some exclusive products to stores because I want to build my online platform.

To place an order, or learn more about this artist visit: kicksbysammy.com. Insta: kicksbysammy