Sheena Ramos (left) and Irish Dalumpines (right) present their unique hand-painted shoes.
Most of us to choose to keep our talents to ourselves, sharing it only with family or among close pals. But friends since childhood Sheena Ramos and Irish Dalumpines from Davao City chose to capitalize on their gifts and share it to the world for others to enjoy, too.
They both discovered their artistic capabilities at a very young age of 8 and 10 respectively. Sheena designed her school bags and notebooks while Irish loved to draw shapes and do letterings.
Today, Sheena and Irish create customized hand-painted sneakers according to the design their customers please or choose from an array of designs they’ve already made. It’s a hobby turned business that all started from Sheena not wanting to spend more on a pair of shoes and with Irish getting inspired by her later on.
Sheena Ramos' 'paintings' on shoes.
Sheena shares, “Few years ago, I saw an online shop selling hand-painted shoes and I really fell in love with the colors and the designs but it was relatively pricey for a pair of shoes so I decided to make my own shoes. I shared it and encouraged Irish to paint shoes as well. I have been making hand-painted shoes for almost three years now.”
Irish adds, “At first, I saw Sheena’s collection of hand-painted shoes and I completely adored them so I ordered a pair of shoes. Later on, Sheena encouraged me to make my own hand-painted shoes. I don’t do it as often as Sheena. I like art, colors and cutesy stuffs so I tried painting shoes. The product—presto!—it’s beautiful.”
Irish Dalumpines' 'two of a kind' paintings on footwear.
In the busyness of living, they also encourage everyone to find time for oneself and for some creativity activity. Irish says, “With today’s stressful lifestyles, it is important to have time to do something fun. Painting allows me to forget the weariness of life’s challenges, which makes me physically and emotionally re-energized. Painting is a way for me to relieve stress and get pent-up emotions out.”
Six hours of passionate labor goes into every pair that they create though the two ladies doesn’t seem to mind time passing by. The entire period covers preparation of all materials, nylon brushes, shoe canvass, and making sure to evenly draw and color the designs.
If you’d like to get a happy pair of Sheena and Irish’s shoes, e-mail shoe size, foot sketch and design to shoebizdavao@yahoo.com.ph. Or, for any orders and inquiries, through their mobile number 0917-2712807.
