Now Open: Raleigh artist creates one of a kind custom shoes featuring your pets

Amber Rupinta Image
Friday, February 21, 2020
Now Open: Raleigh artist creates custom shoes featuring your dogs
What started out as a hobby for a Raleigh artist, has become his business. With great detail, Justin Miller custom paints dogs onto shoes as a hobby.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- What started out as a hobby for a Raleigh artist, has become his business. With great detail, Justin Miller custom paints dogs onto shoes as a hobby.

Justin Miller loves his two dogs, Moe and Bennie. He also loves to paint. Miller combined the two loves by drawing the faces of his dogs on a pair of Vans. The initial pair of shoes were created just for Miller to enjoy, but, after posting the pictures on an Instagram account orders started to come in.

Fast forward to 2020 and Miller, who is an entrepreneur, has started a still-to-be-named business creating custom painted pictures of pets on shoes. Miller is also behind the all-natural home-baked dog treat company, Zookies Cookies.

RELATED: Raleigh-based 'Zookies Cookies' featured on ABC's Shark Tank

"I think it's just a really interesting medium to design on because it's an interactive medium," Miller said "And, oftentimes, one of the greatest components of this I think is, is the fact that when somebody receives the artwork, they put it on, they wear them, they send back pictures with the dogs and they usually share additional stories with that. So it's fun in that sense that it's not just that it goes on a wall, and that said, it's you know a very interactive piece of art."

Miller paints a majority on Vans because they are canvas. He's created shoes for some famous dog owners including Barbara Streisand, Reese Witherspoon and race car driver Lewis Hamilton.

Miller works out of his home and his business is completely based on Instagram.