By Jason Gabak
Olivia Luciani, a graduate of ESM, said she has been passionate about basketball from an early age and like many basketball players, sneakers and the game go hand in hand for Luciani.
Luciani, who said she has been playing basketball since she was 8, also has had an interest and talent in drawing and designing images.
She took her passion for the game to the collegiate level, playing for Buffalo State.
It was while she was in college that she came up with the idea of combining her interest in art and drawing with her interests in sneakers and basketball.
“Being a student athlete and keeping up with my work and school and everything made it hard to have a job,” Luciani said. “My friend and I got the idea to start cleaning shoes for people on campus. We got really busy.”
Luciani said she would cleanup sneakers and do some re-painting too.
One day in 2013 one of her clients asked her to completely change the color of a pair of sneakers.
“I put my love for sneakers and mixed it with my ability to draw and the rest is history,” Luciani said.
Luciani began customizing shoes with images like famous characters or special message paying homage to family members along with other custom pieces.
“I really like doing tribute pieces,” Luciani said. “That is really an honor when someone wants to pay tribute to someone like that with something I do.”
While living in the Buffalo area, Luciani said she was doing her custom work on the side while also working at a Nike retail store.
But two years ago she decided it was time for a change and she struck out on her own launching Laced By Liv as her full time business.
“I just decided that this was what I wanted to do,” she said. “I saved up my money for six months or a year and decided to see where it goes.”
After relocating to the Syracuse area, Luciani has found that her business idea has struck a chord with many people.
With a waiting list that can be four to six weeks and a client list that includes people like Bre Stewart, Brittany Sykes, Jalen Brunson, Donte Strickland and Isaiah Stewart, Luciani said she has been happy with the way her concept has been received.
Recently some of Luciani’s work was featured by Eric Devendorf while he was playing with Boeheim’s Army.
Devendorf used his shoes to share the message of Black Lives Matter and featured an image of George Floyd.
This is the second pair of sneakers Luciani has customized for Devendorf along with a pair featuring his children, Madelyn and Miranda.
In an interview with CNY Central, Devendorf praised Luciani’s talent and said given the exposure he has, he believes it is important to draw attention to issues like the Black Lives Matter movement.
He said he believes this is an issue that he cannot be silent on and Luciani’s work was a great way to share his message on a large scale.
Luciani said she was happy Devendorf wanted to work with her and use her work to share this message.
Seeing her work and what she also believes is an important issue shared on such a large scale is something Luciani was honored to be able to do.
“I think it is really important to share those messages,” she said. “I think it is an important movement and I am really proud to be able to help share that message. Those are the kinds of things I am really proud to be able to be a part of.”
Luciani said she met with Devendorf through Brandon Triche.
“I’ve known him forever,” she said. “From knowing him I met Devendorf and he really liked what I did and it is a great feeling to see him wearing something I made and sharing it on that level and sharing that message of Black Lives Matter is really an honor.”
Luciani said since she launched Laced By Liv as her full time job things have been going well.
The past few months the coronavirus did slow things down a little, but she said things have picked up and she has been taking more orders.
Working on shoes has a certain learning curve, but Luciani said she has learned over time how to adjust.
“Each sneaker is different and has different curves and bumps,” she said. “But I’ve learned to work on a lot of different shoes and know how to make things work.”
From messages to faces and a variety of other images, Luciani said she enjoys working on a wide variety of styles and always enjoys seeing the reaction when she gives the finished product to her clients.
“I will talk with clients and get an idea of what they like, what they are looking for,” she said. “I will usually do something in Photoshop to make sure they get what they want. But really a lot of the time after we get an idea together people tell me they trust what I do and will let me bring my ideas to whatever we are working on. Seeing that they like what I did is the best feeling, knowing it is something special to them.”
To learn more visit lacedbylive.com where there are examples of her work as well as link to her social media where a full portfolio can be found on her Instagram.
