Freek brings new life to your sneakers.
Out of control hobby
In year 7, Freek was already wearing Nikes and since then he has never stopped wearing sneakers. “In my teenage years, I collected sneakers just because I thought it was cool. When I was once in London, I saw a shop that had customized Converse All Stars with paint splatters. That’s when I thought: I want to do that to my Nikes too! I searched for the right shoe paint and got to work myself. I received so many reactions to that, that I also started selling custom sneakers to friends and acquaintances. I bought new sneakers and customised them entirely to the customer's wishes. Because I was so involved with sneakers, people eventually started coming to me with their broken sneakers. I repaired those. And that’s how it got completely out of hand,” laughs Freek.
The next step
In July 2019, Freek opened his shop on Sint Annastraat. “My house had become a large storage space. There were boxes, shoes, and paint supplies everywhere. I thought: this has to change. This building on Sint Annastraat came my way, and without thinking too long about it, I took the plunge. I had a few shelves with maybe 20 sneakers on the wall. And a small counter. That was it.”
By now, FAWL has grown. In his workshop, Freek not only makes custom sneakers, but he also sells new and second-hand shoes. “I source them from everywhere. If I see a cool or unique model, I want to have them for the shop,” he says. You can still go to FAWL for cleaning your sneakers, but if you have damaged sneakers, Freek will lovingly repair them for you. “Sometimes sneakers are worth 1000 euros, so it’s worth repairing, for example, the sole.”
Unique designs
If you've customised hundreds of shoes, how do you find your inspiration? “I often work on commission, and then the client knows exactly what they want in terms of colours and materials. Sometimes I'm also allowed to go completely my own way. When I see a particular sneaker model, I always think: cool shoe, but I would change the colour of the swoosh (the Nike logo) for example. And then I make that shoe exactly how I think it looks cool.”
Freek has taught himself the craft. “I do have a graphic design background, but that’s really quite different from this. I've watched a lot of videos on YouTube and practiced a lot on my own sneakers. When you work with your hands, you truly learn by doing it in practice. The fun part of what I do is that no day is the same. One hour I'm busy customising a sneaker and can let my creativity run free, the next hour I'm attaching a new sole to a shoe, and the other hour I’m cleaning shoes so they look like new again. I also get orders from companies that want sneakers in the colours of their logo, for example, which I also find really enjoyable assignments.”
Homemade sneakers
But it doesn't stop there. Freek has recently also started making shoes. Bespoke, made to measure. He uses a sole from a 'donor shoe' and builds the sneaker up from there. “I choose the leather myself and get to work with the sewing machine. A custom-made sneaker takes about 50 hours of work.”
Freek has many customers from Breda and the surrounding area, but people from all over the Netherlands know how to find FAWL. “I don't do any advertising; it’s mostly done through Instagram and the webshop, but also by word of mouth. The feedback from customers is of course amazing. It’s great to be able to make someone happy with a handmade product.”