SKOPJE, Republic of North Macedonia, March 1, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - From a 
makeshift studio in a cramped apartment in North Macedonia's Skopje, Satja 
Grabuloski has made his mark as one of the top sneaker artists in the world.

With more than 300 celebrities as customers, Grabuloski has taken orders from 
famous athletes, actors, and musicians -- including Lebron James and Dua 
Lipa.

Using an array of paints, Grabuloski and his team of seven artists turn 
ordinary shoes into works of art -- featuring portraits of famous 
celebrities, film characters and sports stars along with splashes of vibrant 
colours.

"Sometimes they call us with a specific idea. Sometimes they say, I have no 
idea -- make me a good design. We then do whatever it takes to make the 
client satisfied," Grabuloski, 31, tells AFP as he prepares a shipment of 
customised football cleats for Real Madrid's winger Vin¡cius Junior.

A single pair of revamped sneakers painted by his team Swithadot StudioS 
fetches a starting price at around 1,000 euros ($1,050).

The growing enterprise first started as a hobby for Grabuloski, who remembers 
using a paint kit his mother bought from Paris to ink patterns on a pair of 
shoes when he was 12.

More than a decade later, Grabuloski was putting custom designs on sneakers 
with a permanent marker. The method proved to be a hit with his first batch 
of shoes selling out in 24 hours.

"That showed me... there is a potential business idea that I am still 
building and developing today," he adds.

- 'Knocked on 1,000 doors' -
Armed with a marketing degree and a smartphone, Grabuloski relied on word of 
mouth and networking with social media influencers to help build his brand.

Grabuloski also honed in on targeting athletes and found initial success with 
painting shoes for handball clubs and popular footballers.

"I have knocked on 1,000 doors -- some of them opened," Grabuloski explains.

"I used the players who bought shoes from us -- one-by-one -- as a starting 
point to make contacts with their friends, co-players in the club or in the 
national team."

All the designs made by his team at Swithadot StudioS are unique, according 
to Grabuloski, with clients given certifications of authenticity and a short 
note on the ideas behind the artwork.

"Every project includes up to 80 hours of work, but some of the designs, for 
example sport shoes that were done for Lebron James were being prepared for 
more than 300 hours," says Grabuloski, while laughing that the massive size 
of the star player's shoes led to more work.

For now, Grabuloski plans to stay and work in North Macedonia, despite longer 
shipping times due to the limited number of flights in and out of the Balkan 
country.

But even as he plans to stay in Skopje, Grabuloski is in the process of 
opening up a showroom in New York, with plans to expand to other major cities 
soon.

With his business booming, Grabuloski admits he is often stretched between 
running the daily operations, networking, and researching new markets, which 
leaves little time to dabble in his favourite hobby.

"I do not have time to draw anymore," Grabuloski tells AFP. "I miss it very 
much."