BizSugar.com › Startups › Artist Finds Success Creating Custom Painted Sneakers

Not many people would leave a steady finance job to paint custom designs on sneakers. But that’s exactly what Blake Barash did.
The credit analyst based in Irvine, California, saw a Craigslist ad from the shoe company Toms, which was looking for an artist to travel to events and paint custom designs on the company’s canvas shoes.
Barash, who grew up with creative hobbies like painting and woodworking, jumped at the opportunity. He got the job. And after a year of painting shoes for Toms, he enjoyed it so much that he decided to start his own business offering similar products.