NikeID Experience at Niketown

I've customized about 6 or 7 different sneakers on nikeid.com but never had the cajones to actually purchase them. Recently NikeID opened a studio in Niketown New York, where you can meet with a rep who will hold your hand through the customizing process. In addition to seeing different fabrics, colors, and shoe styles they have available, your rep guides you through the online process, offering their design advice if you so desire. I made an appointment 5 weeks ago and finally met with Mau, my design rep this morning. We sat down at one of the four design stations equipped with new iMacs.

I knew coming in that i wanted to create a pair of Dunk Lows so I didnt bother with the dunk highs, air 90s or zooms. Mau showed me all the fancy, exclusive in store offerings but what most caught my eye were the all grey, suede, “nubucks,” which were only available as “tryons” and not for sale. They reminded me of the pee wee herman nike's that were released this past april. I wanted them at the time but couldnt find a pair in my size (11.5 US)

I continued the design process which was almost identical to the online setup, but I was able to utilize some leather materials and colors that are not available on the website. After trying several renditions, i decided to keep things simple and went with a two tone colorway (dark slate+ chlorophyl).

I didnt put any text on the sneakers. They dont allow for different text on each sneaker although I wish they would. ( i would have gone with left:be well, right:do good)

After my order was finalized, I was given a plastic, credit card-esque printout of my design.
It was a pretty neat take home, allowing me to share my design with friends until my shoes arrive in about 4 weeks. It now lives in my wallet, where photos of my kids would be if i had them. (Google: Social Object to get a better understanding why they bothered, think moo cards or iphone). Although I understand it takes some time for my sneakers to make their way from China, Reebok customizes their shoes in just 4 days, or so I was told at the Mass Customization Conference I recently attended.

I was also given this great t-shirt: (they even gave jenna one too)

I'll keep you posted on my babies and let you know when the stork arrives. In the meanwhile you can check out this set of pics I took.