Custom “Mariner” 1s

This was a standard stencil on the leather. Before each collar piece is glued and stitched, I roll it around in a few directions to break it in and also clean up any marks that may appear. This photo was before that and the faint outline of the stencils mark can still be seen. All part of the tiny steps in ensuring perfection.
When applying a stencil, I have to measure numerous times as once the stencil is placed, the adhesive is only good for one attempt. I first do two little coats of the back color which in this case is Turquoise, before three coats of Black. This guarantees no paint will bleed under the stencil.

The tiny holes at the bottom of the heel is for when I start to shape the heel area, I will stitch the liner in to help prevent it from moving around during the lasting stage.
I also opted for more padding on these in the liner. While one layer will be ironed to the lining fabric, and two layers of fabric to the collar, I went for a third to the collar that would stretch down to the heel as well, thus giving a second layer there instead of just one.

This is a tongue ready to be stitched to the toe box. I have not added the lace hole yet as I want to add that once the upper has been completed so as to make sure the laces will go through the right spot.
The “Nike Air” tongue label is made from scratch as well. The screen printing process of that took a lot of time but was finally able to come out pretty well.

With the upper now complete, it is ready to be lasted up. I added a Turquoise stitch to the bottom of the toe panel to lock in the two layers of leather, liner, and liner padding. When the excess is trimmed off, it makes for a simple lasting process as well as provides a clean line to follow when shaping it.

The complete pair really shows off the beauty of Turquoise as it can be a slept on color. The simplicity of the Ivory with the Black highlights is gorgeous look.

When building my Jordans, a pair of donor soles are always needed. The standard White midsole can be quite harsh looking when against a softer White or Ivory color, plus, the original pairs now have a slight aged yellow to them, so recreating that subtle detail is needed.
To replicate this I remove the stitching and adhesive from a donor pair of Jordan 1s, then soak the separated midsole in hot coffee for 10-15 minutes to get that older look.
The contrast between a White pair of midsoles and “aged” one are above as well.
Of all the stages, this is the best smelling part.