Meet Eric Payne | Footwear Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eric Payne and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eric, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
It was actually sort of unintentional. I think it really started just by wanting to make shoes that would resonate with my friends and I. This was in 2018. Everything available to us at that time felt sort of broad, so the idea of creating something that was more unique to the counter culture of LA was really motivating. But I think my wife Lissy was the only one who thought it could turn into a brand from that early on.

I’d been working in footwear for 10 years by then. At that point I was an in-house designer in LA. So I would stay late at the studio and make my own samples after hours. I started giving them out to friends and posting them to Twitter, and to my surprise people seemed to really like them.

After doing that for a while, I’d grown a bit of a portfolio. So, my friend Rafael invited me to do a showroom in Paris during PFW. That was my first time presenting myself as my own brand. The buyers said my stuff was “off-beat” so nothing really came from it. But I was so stoked to be there I really didn’t care.

Thankfully things grew from there. It went from giving shoes to friends, then selling to friends of friends, and then finally to having a customer base.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I think what sets us apart is that we’re completely self-funded, we make all of our products in-house, and manage everything else in-house too. I’m proud that we’ve been able to get a younger generation excited about handmade shoes by doing things our way in our own style. It wasn’t easy, and it’s still not easy. But, we’ve overcome challenges by working through them with patience. I’ve learned a lot along the way, and picked up all the necessary skills it takes to run a business. But I think the most important thing I’ve learned is that the purpose of running a business is to bring people together.

I want people to know that we’re working to keep this idea of an independent footwear designer alive. We want to follow the lead of designers like Manolo Blahnik and Pierre Yantorny. It’s still possible to run a business the way they have, and there are alternatives to mass produced corporate footwear.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
It’s always good to start the day at the beach in Santa Monica or Venice. Then, have lunch at Tsujita’s Annex on Sawtelle Blvd. After that you could go check out some stores in Beverly Hills or The Grove. From there, drive over to the east side and check out some galleries in the art district. Then finish it out with a dinner at Bestia and a drink at Tony’s Saloon. If you still have energy, go to an after hours party downtown.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to shoutout my wife Lissy. She was the first to push me into creating the brand when it was just a small project. She worked full-time to carry the weight financially when we were reinvesting everything back into the company, and still manages to take on all the responsibilities that come with being a co-founder.

I think one of the best things that’s ever happened to our brand was getting a retweet from my friend, Bradley Soileau. That’s how I got introduced to guys like Chandler and Noah from The Hellp. I also can’t forget Justin Coates from 3 Sheep Studio. Once all those guys started to wear my shoes around, their friends and fans picked up on it and wanted their own too.

Like Marc Forster noticed my shoes on Justin and ended up coming to my downtown apartment to pick up a few pairs. Recognition from him felt really big, and that whole experience of getting buzz in the LA scene was super validating. So shout out to all of them. Their support from early on really got me to where I am today.

Website: https://ericpayne.com

Instagram: @ericpayne_

Twitter: @ericpayne__