Designer Candi Kaye Johnson from Team Sneaker Vixen turns old and new shoes into pieces of sneaker art. Johnson works out of a Washington D.C. studio to make custom sneakers that fit the personalities and preferences of clients throughout the United States. The Monarch Butterfly Van Half Cabs shown in this post demonstrate the designer’s ability to make good customs without using tons of design elements.

The base shoe is a light gray Van Half Cab with dark gray toe box. Team Sneaker Vixen chose the monarch butterfly as a primary design element that would stand out from this bleak canvas. On the toe boxes, Johnson painted off-center monarch butterflies including a part of a butterfly’s wing on the left toe box to imply motion. The sides of both shoes have full-sized images of monarch butterflies, standing out in orange and black glory from the plain gray background.

You can learn more about Team Skate Vixen’s work at the Facebook page linked here. While the Monarch Butterfly Vans do not do justice to the designer’s superior design skills, they are successful at showing her craftsmanship. Just like the experienced chef asking young students to show their skills by making simple omelets, sneaker artists reveal their strengths and weaknesses through basic customs.

Tags: Custom Sneakers, half cabs, Vans