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If you think you have an interesting "Today's Woman" topic, you can contact Candice at cmadsen@ksl.com. A Utah woman is turning canvas shoes into walking pieces of art, and now her designs are being sold in exclusive boutiques around the world.
From Elvis to Michael Jackson, Hayley Parker's shoes rock. "They're canvas, and they aren't finished. So, you can draw whatever you want on them," she explained.
The Alpine native studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and says creating these shoes is the perfect fit for her. "I've always been drawing. This is in the fashion realm, but it's definitely more fine art," she said.
Hayley draws each pair by hand, which makes them original pieces of art. The prices range from $200 to $500 a pair.
"I was ecstatic when the first boutique carried them, so it's just kind of snowballed," Hayley said.
Hayley's shoes are sold under the brand H.P. Lovecraft and are carried by some of the world's most famous fashion boutiques in New York, Italy and Paris. In fact, when she was in Paris she stopped by to see her shoes on display only to discover they were sold out. "I didn't get to see them, but I guess it was better they were sold out," she said.
Some pretty famous feet are even walking around in Hayley's soulful creations. "Madonna's publicist loved them, contacted Madonna, showed them, she loved them. They wanted me to make a pair for her personally, she explained.
Now Hayley is in talks with Madonna's company to create merchandise for Madonna's new album. "I freaked out! It was so bizarre. It's kind of as big as you can get -- Madonna," she said.
Hayley says her ultimate goal is to get her line of shoes mass produced and sold in department stores like Nordstrom. But for now, she says she's taking it one colorful step at a time.
Hayley and her new husband moved back to New York over the weekend to pursue careers and continue her shoe business. You can find some of Hayley's shoes at the High Life boutique in Salt Lake.
To get to Hayle's Web site, click the related link to the right of the story.
