Seven years ago University of Oregon alum Aaron Firestein was sketching designs on plain white Vans to sell on Facebook. Today, Firestein is releasing a new line of shoes as a representative who was named on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, all thanks to his company: BucketFeet.
As a college senior, Firestein knew he would do something creative as a career.
“I’ve never seen myself as a sit-in-a-cubicle-and-work-all-day sort of person,” Firestein said. “I grew up with a really adventurous family who went on a lot of cool trips to a lot of places. I was very privileged to travel a lot and to have a free, very genuine interest in the world and why it works the way it does.”
It was his senior year of college when he had more free time and a lighter course load that Firestein adopted sketching on shoes as a hobby. However, he never anticipated the success that followed the creation of BucketFeet.
“It was always a fun hobby,” Firestein said. “I think that’s where a lot of the success has come from. This was never a money making scheme.”
“If you told me in 2007 that I would be one of the Forbes 30 under 30 I wouldn’t believe you,” Firestein added.
The company, co-founded by Firestein and Raaja Nemani in 2011, took designs from different artists and printed them onto canvas shoes. Among the company’s 4,000 collaborators are painters, tattoo artists and graffiti artists hailing from all over the world.
With the company’s recent release of a fall 2014 collection of sneakers at Nordstroms, BucketFeet is on the rise.
After founding BucketFeet, Firestein reached out to fellow artist and University of Oregon alumni Catherine Thompson. Thompson, who designed the ATYPICAL shoe, had already known Firestein before he started BucketFeet.
“He contacted me after the first series of shoes, which were just Aaron’s designs,” Thompson said. “The second round incorporated other artists, and he wanted someone from Oregon and wanted to bring on a woman. Bring a little flavor in the second batch.”
So far, Thompson has designed one shoe and has some paintings in the Soho store in New York. According to her, the most exciting part of the process is seeing her work on social media.
“As a painter, I’m used to having work in a gallery or having a show and that piece goes into someone’s home and I don’t see it after that,” Thompson explained. “So, it’s pretty cool to see it out in the world and coming across my artwork in any way.”
Curtis Ashby, another BucketFeet artist, was excited to connect with a brand that supported other artists.
Based in Seattle, Ashby submitted his designs to its contest: Rock the Design.
Shortly after, he was selected to be a designer for BucketFeet. According to Ashby, the most attractive thing about the brand was its openness to new artists.
“A lot of large companies only work with exclusive designers,” Ashby said. “For BucketFeet to openly accept new designers and new ideas is really great.”
As BucketFeet continues to grow, Firestein believes there’s no formula to success.
“I would say just go for it,” Firestein said. “If there’s something you’re passionate about, something you want to pursue and you think it’s a good idea just go for it. The worst thing that could happen is you’ll fail, and you’ll learn a bunch of stuff.”