I was so pleased with my previous marker sketch that I couldn’t wait to get it into Illustrator. While I had to finesse a few lines and I changed the logo to a tonal deboss, there wasn’t really a whole lot else I felt compelled to change. 

I slimmed out the outsole slightly and increased the radius of the soleplate edge to provide smoother action when worn with bike clips. One of my biggest complaints about vulcanized rubber shoes is how the 90 degree edge of the sole base is always creating friction when you go to slide your foot into the clip. Those few seconds of fumbling are a giant pain in the ass when you’re trying to take a left at a busy intersection. The slim vamp and minimal toe will allow flawless clip function while the top half of the shoe can have the tongue popped for stylish city riding.

The name is a nod to the pot hole riddled avenue of death which I ride the most.

Labor day is fast approaching and that means one thing… Back to school season is officially here. With that in mind, I wanted to design a clean, functional bike sneaker that would accommodate some preppy textiles. After sketching for a while with little success, I finally worked up a concept that would provide a bold integrated graphic while maintaining a clean to for optimal functionality. 

The upper is designed to be three separate panels of suede over a preppy casual textile in the collar and eyestay. The quarter panel overlays are detailed with laser cut microperforations and the collar overlay is fastened to a molded TPU lacing component that floats over the textile eyestay. The placement of the TPU lacing part allows for increased lacing support while maintaining the continuity of the lateral color blocking. 

The chosen plaid is a placeholder to represent a more considered textile choice. I wish I had time to do more textile inspiration for this design but time constraints limited what I could accomplish. Ultimately, I’m pretty happy with the overall design and the balance between the bold pattern blocking and the simple functional vamp.

I try to do my best to avoid the gym at all costs. It’s straight torture. But when I found myself stuck overseas without access to my bike or my favorite rock climbing gym, I had to bite the bullet and hit the hotel fitness center. As a result, I ended up sketching some versatile athletic styles that would serve as a well rounded gym sneaker.

I wanted something that would be a little more stable than your average vintage running shoe while looking good with shorts, trackpants or jeans. Nobody looks good pairing Runner’s World marathon sneakers with denim. So when I started sketching, my goal was to include enough classic design elements so this shoe could disguise itself as a vintage runner.

The midsole is designed to be compression molded foam with a TPU shank clip for midfoot stability. The outsole is given superior flexibilty from the multiple flex grooves in the forefoot for treadmill or elliptical machine workouts, while the slim forefoot would fit comfortably into spin class pedal clips. 

The main detail of the upper is a stirrup shaped quarter overlay that visually connects to the shank clip while providing ergonomic multidirectional support. Some of the other upper details, such as the parallel stitch lines, were drawn from previous designs to maintain some aesthetic connection. I included a toecap underlay on the lateral side to add some structural support for the vamp while providing color blocking options. This detail would inhibit flexibility slightly, but the additional support for the pattern was worth the tradeoff. Ultimately, I feel like I came up with a well rounded gym shoe that could also see some action for casual summer wear.