Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill Forie.
Hi Jill, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The origin story of Sink or Swim has a lot to do with naivety of age, timing and being adamantly against ever working a job that I wouldn’t enjoy. What started as doodling on my own shoes as an art ed student in college snowballed into a business organically and has been sustaining itself that way ever since. I’ve officially been in business since 2009 and one of my first clients was Hayley Williams from Paramore. After she ordered a pair of custom Pet Sematary shoes and tweeted/posted them on MySpace (remember, this was 2009 lol) the business took off. In the 10 out of 12 (nearly 13) years of Sink or Swim, I have also been tandemly working as an art teacher. The only time Sink or Swim was only my source of income was in undergrad when I started it and when I first moved out to California from New York in 2015. At that point, I took over a year and a half to paint shoes and travel as much as possible. I spent the first two years in OC and in 2017, I moved up to Northeast LA in Highland Park and I’ve been here since. I teach art at an incredible K-8 school near MacArthur Park (go Dragons!) and I absolutely love it. It’s always fun to merge customizing into my curriculum and watch students become hooked on the endless possibilities.
I joke that the business peaked years ago because the Sink or Swim that exists now at 12+ years old is very different than the first eight or so years. Sink or Swim has opened many opportunities for me including interviews, TV appearances, celebrity clients and more, but I always identify as an educator first and a working artist/sneaker customizer second which I think people are always surprised to hear especially coming from a hustle and grind place like New York and living in a fame/influencer driven city like LA. Like I said, this business has always sustained itself organically. I’ve adopted a very “whatever happens, happens” mentality mainly because teaching is always where my focus goes first. The good thing about this is that it takes the pressure off of running the business side of Sink or Swim, something I’ve always avoided/let fall by the wayside which has its pros and cons. I still only focus on creating a good product that I enjoy working on and thanks to word of mouth and social media, people are always able to find me despite having literal thousands of options for customizers these days. Custom sneakers used to be a very niche art form and in the last few years, it has exploded. Like most, I use social media, especially for my business but at the end of the day, I have always run this through the joy of customizing 1 of 1 shoes and bringing people’s visions to life. Social media is simply the free widely used catalyst to put it all out there.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like any self-made venture, there’s ups and downs. In terms of business struggles, I’ve always had a very love/hate relationship with social media because it’s a game of chess and I’m not good at following rules, formulas or specifically in this case, algorithms. Even customizing in general is formulaic now. In seconds you can find libraries of “how to” videos and pre-made “customizer kits” and you have everything you need. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, and I know I sound like a salty old hipster, I get it, but that did not exist when I started. I had to f*ck up a lot of shoes and compromise time to find my voice and methodology as a customizer and I’m proud of that. It’s not enough to be good at what you do, and a lot of the time you don’t even have to be good, you just have to make it look good enough for someone to look at a post which is a way of conducting business that I will not subscribe to. On the flip side, I can’t be upset about it because it’s the nature of the beast in all creative fields and I’ve chosen not to get involved aside from using these apps to post my work in a way/on a timeline that works for my work/life balance.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My business is called Sink or Swim Custom Kicks. I specialize in hand-painted, custom footwear, mainly using Vans. Each pair is meticulously painted to make each client’s vision come to life and every pair made is only 1 of 1. Years ago, I would’ve been known as one of the very few female customizers but I am happy to say that that bubble has since burst. There’s a lot of us out there now, I’m just more than likely one of the matriarchs lol aka older and more experienced. I’ve painted over 800 pairs of shoes. Although I’ve lived in California for seven years, I’m from New York and I still have a very New York attitude in the way I create, which I think has set me apart from others. I’m not willing to compromise the fun of painting a pair of shoes to appease popularity. I have a strict list of “no,” meaning: no hypebeast designs, no TikTok trends, no colorway flips, and as of recently no Disney (I’ll break that rule for a family member occasionally but please spare me, lol). Having these restrictions isn’t to make myself seem elitist in any way but simply because I do not enjoy making work within those trends and the good news for the client is that we can work out their idea in a different direction or I am more than happy to send them to a number of amazing artists that I know will make it happen for them.
I have been proud of this brand since day 1 and I still am. I run all of this by myself and it’s a privilege to be incredibly passionate about doing this as well as teaching and like I said in the beginning, I’ve approached “work” very strategically so that it’s less about “work” and more about fun. I’m proud of where I am now because it’s a result of remaining true to myself. I always say that I’ll be a better business person or I’ll hire someone to take care of all of that but then I get wrapped up in all of these customizing projects and I’m happy just letting it be what it is. I’m 33 now, recently engaged (Hi Jeff!) and ready to prioritize starting a new chapter of my life. With that said, I’ve gone through MANY chapters since 2009 but Sink or Swim has remained one of the very few constants and it will continue to do so. I’m not looking to be a huge brand or be famous, my middle school students think I’m famous and that’s good enough for me, lol.
I guess this is where I do my plug, so in terms of readers knowing about the brand, offerings, services, be sure to follow me on Instagram @sinkorswimkicks for whatever may pop up.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t think luck has anything to do with it. I’ve led a great life that has been guided by unwavering support, both given and received. Even after struggles and suffering incredible loss, especially recently, I’m still extremely blessed. Besides having the privilege to have been born into an unconditionally loving family, I’ve surrounded myself with authentic, creative, and genuinely kind people. I can sniff out the BS very quickly. If I had to incorporate luck into the equation, it’s that I’m wildly lucky to have the people in my life that I do. I can’t do any of this without my astoundingly strong coast to coast community of loved ones. And to my Leroy, my perfect, nearly 14 years old pit bull, who I lost in August 2021; the COO of Sink or Swim, creative director and shoe cuddler, I miss you everyday and it was an honor having you lay by my side for hours every time I painted.
Pricing:
- Starting price is $250 and increases depending on the style of the shoe wanted and complexity of the design
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @sinkorswimkicks
