Designing one-of-a-kind shoes for a good cause

Yashan Wu talks about her company Unboxedcustoms, what they do, and how they are supporting Dream Factory.

A Winnipeg entrepreneur whose custom-painted sneakers have been sold all over the world has kicked off a new initiative to help kids facing life-threatening illnesses.

Yashan Wu founded Unboxedcustoms five years ago, specializing in artfully customized sneakers.

Wu works with clients to develop a design—everything from cartoon characters to pet memorabilia—and then paints and dyes it onto sneakers to bring the vision to life.

“I got my first client through Facebook Marketplace, and then it just started to snowball. Five years later, here we are,” Wu said in an interview with CTV Morning Live Winnipeg.

Since kicking off the business, Wu has sold hundreds of sneakers in over 30 countries. She also partnered with the Winnipeg Sea Bears to create a custom pair of Nike Air Force 1s in the team’s colours.

Now, Wu is using her talents to launch Happy Feet—an initiative with The Dream Factory to donate 50 pairs of custom-painted shoes to children facing life-threatening illnesses.

Wu has launched a GoFundMe with a goal of $2,000 to cover the supplies.

”Once we get the amount of funds we need, I’ll be sourcing out shoes, trying to keep the budget as low as possible for each so that we can raise more money and then go out and create custom designs that are based on what the kids really want,” Wu said.

Funds are being collected until March 1. The goal is to complete all the shoes and deliver them to kids by June 1 or sooner.

“It’s just a really good initiative overall, and it’s just amazing to be part of it.”

- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagacé