Published to the Deerfield Valley News in October 2021 and printed in their October 28th edition

WILMINGTON – The next time someone watches Indianapolis Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers streak across the field, they may be surprised to know that his Louis Vuitton-patterned cleats were designed by a local Wilmington artist.
“I’ve always been a big sneakerhead and I love art,” says Eric Bolognani, 19, who has been running his custom shoe business out of his Wilmington home for two years now. It began as a fun personal project after he experimented with painting his pair of Nike Air Force 1s. Soon after, his friends and family were asking for their own custom pairs. 
“It really started to take off from there,” he says.
As word got out, Bolognani created a social media presence, posting his designs on Instagram, recording videos of his process on TikTok, and starting a website in June 2020. He now boasts over 130,000 followers on his platforms.
“My first few orders were only for my close friends, but once I started posting videos on social media, before I knew it, I was shipping my shoes all across the country, even to Europe.”
It wasn’t long before NFL players like Rodgers and Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth were discussing with Bolognani what they would like for their own pairs of custom cleats.
Unlike Air Force 1s, Vans sneakers or other designer sneakers which take between two and four hours to complete, cleats can take up to 10 hours. “If I’m working with cleats,” says Bolognani, “just the prep time is three hours itself.”
His cleats have received a lot of engagement on social media however, as he regularly receives requests from high school athletes to professionals, asking for custom pairs to wear throughout their sports seasons.
For each order, Bolognani buys the shoes himself. He starts all his projects by using acetone to remove each pair’s factory finish. He then lays out the design, taping off areas that will not be painted. Once each design is complete, he uses a waterproof and scratchproof matte finisher to protect and enhance the lifetime of the shoes, before shipping them off to customers.
The base shoe can be expensive. A white Nike Air Force 1, for instance, retails at $90, creating what could be a tense situation when painting intricate and complicated designs. However, Bolognani has never had to throw away a pair of shoes due to a mistake. Luckily, the same acetone that is used to remove the factory finish can also be used to buff away any mishaps. Fabric shoes like Vans pose a greater challenge since acetone cannot be used, but the one time Bolognani made a mistake on a fabric shoe, he was able to use his artistic talent to incorporate it into the design.
The result is a unique, clean, impressive shoe design that is created as a collaboration between artist and customer.
Bolognani has big plans for his growing business, the first of which is to branch off into clothing. He already has ideas for sweatshirts, T-shirts, and hats, with the potential for custom clothing further down the line. Beyond that, he would like to create starter packs, which would allow people to order a set of materials, templates, and instructions to design and paint their own shoes. 
“I’m trying to do things people will be interested in and engaged in,” he says.
The 19-year-old entrepreneur seems to have no shortage of creative ideas and artistic talent. 
Bolognani’s work can be viewed at www.ebshoecustoms.com or his Instagram @eb__customs.