EMBARRASSING

Where 'dem Hanukkah kicks at?
Oh, they're coming. The Jews Do It crew are hitting Photoshop hard. Stick with us. We're lazy, but we're not jerks.

MANISHEWITZ WINE KICKS!

Another collaboration with my bud John C. Today, we sat down and cracked hard on this pair of special edition Manishewitz Air Force 1's. We worked on the color scheme for a while trying to find the perfect combination that truly represented the wine manufacturer's logo--we think it came up solid. The purples and gold/yellow were both inspired by the logo (see inset), but its the silver that you're probably scratching your head over...

That silver colorway symbolizes the Kiddush cup, or the silver cup we use on the Sabbath to make the blessing, or the "Kiddush," over. While I'm certain that you're familiar with silver goblets, here's one example just to illustrate the point:



And I gotta say, that bunch of grapes emboss by the heel gives this shoe the perfect balance. Like the Manischewitz Concord Wine, these shoes are sickeningly sweet!

SUNDAY BRUNCH KICKS!

Friend and exceptional talent John Cornette is Jews Do It's first guest designer this week (I welcome submissions for sure). Being that that guy's a whiz on the Photoshop, I gave him an assignment. Take a pair of Air Jordan I's and design them as inspired by smoked salmon, cream cheese, a poppy-seed bagel, and a butter knife (for spreading).

I watched John as he whipped through this Barney Greengrassed number like Temptee while rocking his design tools with meticulous attention. He even left the Jordan logo embossed into the lox upper (click on the image for a better quality look). That, my friend, is taking this to go.

We all know that bagels and Jews go hand-in-hand, so it's my great pleasure to present the first pair not necessarily tied to observance or tradition, rather this is an excercise in Jewish identity. I loves 'em. I don't know if I want to wear them out to the Bagel Basket on 90th and Amsterdam, or stay at home at eat them up.

Props to John once again for stepping up to the dairy plate.

TORAH KICKS! LEARN 'EM!

I haven't posted in awhile because these kicks took forever and a day to design. The good news is that I'm getting much better at this Photoshop thing all thanks to my skillz master John Cornette. Thanks, bud.

You're looking at the much belabored-upon Torah kicks designed and inspired by the Torah scrolls as seen in synagogues. See pic below:



See the velvet covers draped over the scrolls as they sit in the ark? That's where I got that velvet material idea to adorn the whole shoe--looks pretty dope, eh? But here's where we get intricate. The wood-colored laces and sole are inspired by the wooden handles at both the top and the bottom of the Torah (these allow us to roll to the appropriate portion or segment of the Bible).

And considering I borrowed the concept for these shoes from the Nike Terminator Metal edition, I converted the hanging guitar pic that comes with the original shoe into a silver breastplate (see some of them hanging on the Torahs above). This particular one that I designed represents the 12 Tribes of Judah (count the twelve unique stones) which feels a little intricate and detailed, but, hey, better to roll deep than not at all.

And finally, remember that Tanach font I found the other day...? I used the Hebrew-looking font and placed a gold "Nike" on the heel, kind of like the velvet Torah dresses have sponsors embroidered on the Torah. Leave no detail behind.

SUKKOT, SUCKAS!

Those of your paying attention to your surroundings will notice some random wooden huts in my fellow Hebraic brothers' backyards. This, my friend, is called the Sukkah and it's built in observance of the eight day holiday known as Sukkot. School yourself some more at Wikipedia if you're so inclined.

In addition to eating meals in the Sukkah, the Jews carry a yellow fruit and a leafy bunch around with them to synagogue. The tree-like item is called the Lulav and together with that lemon-looking fruit, called Etrog, they represent and symbolize man's body.



The longer, thinner leaves, or the Eruvim, represent man's ability to speak, or the lips. The more oval and lighter green leaves called the Hadassim represents man's ability to see, or, the eyes. The long bamboo piece in the middle symbolizes the spine. [Stick with me here--almost to the kicks]. And finally, the Etrog is the heart--see how the shape is similar? By holding all of these things together during certain sections of prayer we're keenly aware of all of our essential functions.

Now let's get to the reason for this long megillah-- the Sukkot, Suckas shoes. I made the color palette exclusively in greens, yellow, and browns except for the black laces which has a good reason (to be explained.) First off, the back section is a textured leafy pattern and I also made it a lighter green to match the Hadassim. The front section of the shoe is a darker green for the Eruvim and also smoother than the back to differentiate the two different leaves. Dig?
The swoosh has a bumpy yellow leather to match the texture of the fruit and the midsole has a brown, bamboo-like pattern to match the crossweave of the Lulav holder. Tight, right? But here's where the plot thickens. See those leaves coming out of the midsole? I'm pretty confident in saying that I have never seen a shoe with a decoration coming out from the midsole--I put some fake astroturf to symbolize the leaves all around the circumference shoe. This makes this pair tres' unique, non?

Finally, about those black laces you all have been wondering about. See, it's tradition that the top of the Etrog stays on the whole eight days for it to qualify as "kosher." Not "kosher" as in eating, but "kosher as it can be used for prayer purposes. Those stark black laces represent that piece, or the Pitum, which, of course, is the final touch that makes these Suckas kicks absolutely kosher.











See the pitum at the top? You do? Good!

HIGH HOLY KICKS!

Shana keeps reminding that the High Holidays are right around the corner. And she's right, so there oughta be a shoe that the observant Jew can rock to synagogue on Yom Kippur. Now for the uninformed (all two of you), it's forbidden to wear leather shoes on the fast day so people generally wear ugly-as-sin canvas shoes or flip-flops which is so Bad Form 101. This ain't no beach, son. Although, every once in awhile, you'll have one kid rocking the Vans checkered slip-ons, but aside from that brand, there aren't many flashy non-leather kicks making the rounds these days (and I'm not talking to you, vegan Alkaline Trio sneaks. You're not my kind.)

Therefore, I decided to adapt the all-white canvas Nike SB Mid and appropriate it as my Yom Kippur shoe. Why? Because it's the hottest set in fast day apparel. But lest you think I'm slacking on the Jews Do It front, I added my own lil' touch to the swoosh.
See that pattern in there. Yup, it's canvas too but it's a canvas recreation of a shofar inspired by the pic below.



The shofar is a ram's horn that we blow in synanogue to signify that the fast is over, so it felt appropriate to give the swoosh over to the Judaic instrument. It's sound is fierce and booming, and awe inspiring. Kinda like the shoe above. Dig?

THE KIPPAH KICKS

For all the uninformed out there, Jews tend to wear four types of kippahs (also known as yarmulkahs, or skullcaps). Each Jew wears the kippah of choice in accordance to his philosophical beliefs, or the community that he associates with.
For example, the more religious men tend to wear kippahs made from velvet like this:


Figure 1: The Velvet Kippah

The Modern Orthodox Jew wears a knitted black kippah or a suede one, like these:


Figure 2: Knitted Kippah


Figure 3: Suede Kippah, with textured pattern

Reform Jews or Sephardic tend to wear the silk kippah. This is also the commonly used as the kippah that shuls hand out to guests who come unprepared with one of their own.


Figure 4: The Silk Kippah

The Dunk Hi SB above was based on those four materials. The lighter gray in the back is made from a velvet, the mid-section features a suede with a floral design pattern (some suede kippahs feature imbedded designs) while the front is a crochet black knit. The highlight of this shoe is the silk swoosh--I don't think Nike has ever incorporated silk into its shoe design so this concept would be a first.

Head's up, peeps. These shoes will have you covered.

THE FONT. AWW YEAH.

Just downloaded a font that I'm sure will come in super-handy over the next few weeks. In fact, the next shoe I design may involve this type treatment. Thanks to the good people at Dieter Steffmann for the free hook-up of the Tanach font.

STREIT'S MATZO KICKS

It makes perfect sense that the first shoe I designed for Jews Do It is the Matzah shoe in collaboration with Streit's Matzah factory, the fine Lower East Side purveyours of unleavened bread since 1925. Check out the old school photo of their headquarters below. You know they're ancient because that photo features a pre-historic station wagon.



The design above is intentionally simple (hell, I'm learning Photoshop in the process) so the grey area is made of a Newbuck leather, while the matzah pattern is textured leather. Whatever you do, don't get these sneaks in water or they won't be Kosher for Passover.

THE INSPIRATION

Don't it look like a matzah pattern...? I thought so too. And so this Nike ID exclusive got me thinking, why are there no Jewish-themed kicks?

There's a Thanksgiving shoe. There's a St. Patrick's Day shoe. Hell, there's even a Chinese New Year of the Rat limited edition and a Cinco De Mayo pair! What exactly does it take for us Jews to get some well-deserved respect in the shoe game? Huh?

Well, in a world of sneakers, there was a man who wanted badly for that pair of Semetic kicks. This is his story. This is his blog.