ARCH

The Zoom Lebron IV “South Beach” Project by Averill Air

February 7, 2012

About a month ago while I was sneaker hunting I met a brother at a local mall and asked him if he ever considered customizing shoes. His store was filled with one of a kind airbrush and other forms of media that was for sale. After I explained to him what I wanted to create, he did a little research on Foamposite material and ordered the correct paints to begin customizing a pair of Zoom Lebron IVs that I recently found by visiting a store a couple of hours away from Memphis in a small mom and pop store. I will be posting pics of his progress as he begins taking a completely DS pair of Zoom Lebron IVs (which by the way in 2006 was one of the only shoes to use the Foamposite material in a few years). Check out the progress below. I will post the finished product here on the blog and on my Facebook page. Remember this is a work in progress, but man, it’s really nice work so far.

Artist: Averill Air: averillair@gmail.com, Phone 901-592-7413, location: Raleigh Springs Mall in Memphis, TN.

The ARCH Casual Shoe line and author Christopher D. Burns

February 5, 2012

Author: Christopher D. Burns, MFA in The Allen: Haze Gray (photo by Darius B. Williams)

Author: Christopher D. Burns, MFA, in The Allen: Navy Blue (photo by Darius B. Williams)

Local Memphis author Christopher D. Burns, MFA in the new ARCH Casual shoe: The Allen. Styling by K’PreSha Boutique and photos by Darius B. Williams of Aquarius Studios.

Visit Darius B. Williams’ Aquarius Studios

Buy the novel, Archie’s Psalm

Visit K’PreSha Boutique at 323 South Main in Downtown Memphis

ARCH Sneaker Store Loyalty Page

January 25, 2012

If you have been following the progression of the site (man I say this a lot) then you have noticed changes on the site that all deal with the process of selling sneakers and apparel through the site without relying so heavily on the ARCH Sneaker Store on Amazon. What I am doing with the Loyalty Page, which is why you no longer see kicks on the homepage, is creating a new store where those of you who have supported ARCH by purchasing Nike, Adidas, and other brands as well as ARCH get to purchase kicks at a discounted price from my ARCH Sneaker Store on Amazon. The Loyalty Page will feature various kicks not available on Amazon and shipping will be free and guaranteed to reach you in less than 4 days or you will get a discount on your next purchase. That’s right even if you are in California or Washington State your kicks will be there in 4 days or less! So bookmark the Loyalty Page and bookmark the Amazon page. There will be great deals on either site. Thanks and Stay Motivated

Chris B.

New Year’s Running and Training shoes on ARCH Amazon Store

January 2, 2012

Get a great deal on Nike Cross Training and running shoes on the ARCH Sneaker Store. All shoes have been marked down 20-40% on the Nike Free Xilla TR, Nike 1.3 Trainer Mid, and Nike Lunar Edge 12. Visit the store and grab a pair now. If you are local visit K’PreSha Boutique at 323 South Main in Downtown Memphis and grab a pair while shoes last!

ARCH Sneaker Store on Amazon

ARCH Casual Updates From the Factory: Navy and Haze Gray

December 29, 2011

ARCH Casual: The Allen-Navy

Anyone who knows me, knows that some of the best times of my young adulthood occurred when I was Haze Gray and underway. In other words, when I was in the Navy I learned a lot about life; in particular I learned about myself.

The next two colorways from the ARCH Casual line represent my time in the Nav. I guess it’s a special dedication to my guys in VF-114, The Fighting Aardvarks and VF-213, the Fighting Black Lions F-14 squadrons. Big shout out to CVN-72 Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier! Singapore, Hong Kong, PI, Hawaii, Perth, Dubai, I got to see a lot of the world.

Maybe these shoes will take you on a trip.

ARCH Casual: The Allen-Haze Gray

These are rough photos straight from the factory. I will try to get better shots when they land in the US.

Stay Motivated

Chris B

ARCH Sneaker Shop x K’PreSha Boutique

December 21, 2011

ARCH Sneaker Store has hooked up with K’PreSha Boutique on South Main to set up a consignment based sneaker shop. Take a trip to downtown Memphis to check out the small collection of kicks in stock. More sneakers will be added over the next few weeks, but you can find some great deals on casual and athletic kicks. Stop by

323 South Main in Downtown Memphis www.kpresha.com

What’s In The Box?

December 3, 2011

What's in the box?

It’s December! That means the ARCH Casual line is launching and it begins with a limited release of the The Allen-Sand. What’s in the box? Click through and find out.

The Allen is the first shoe released by ARCH in the year 2011. It’s been a long and difficult process, but the goal to get at least one release done this year was accomplished.

To get a closer more detailed look at the Allen click on the link below for the description in detail.

The Allen by ARCH casual

What's In The Box?

ARCH Casual: The Allen Samples

November 20, 2011

Winter Gray Allen: Will not be released

When you are launching a new shoe, samples are critical to the development of the shoe. As most sneakerheads and fashion people know, samples cost a nice hunk of change. I think this is what makes me a little frustrated in the whole process. Like an artist when you take the time to invest energy into something and people simply overlook it because it’s not Nike or Jordan, that ish is mad offensive. To start your own shoe company is an expensive and nailbiting process. You drop a lot of money and then you have to work on the niche and angle, pricing and branding, and the whole time you work on this some person who is a “sneakerhead”, or “fashion” expert, which half the time the person is neither, simply drops a comment like “wack, garbage, not copping, lacks detail” with no consideration at all for the work that it took.

Samples: Will not be released

Does this sound sensitive? Definitely, but I state all of this to say, one day you are going to want to do something other than buy Cole Hahn or Nike. You are going to want to make your own thing in fashion or industry and then you will ask for feedback. My only point of advice here is, get tough, real tough skin.

Auburn Allen: Just a sample, will not release

So what is this about? The samples. These shoes will not be made in these materials, but I thought as a part of the process I had to show you everything that comes before the launch. Just like when I went through all of the ebay drama, I will give you the step by step. These pics are of the The Allen Samples. Check it out, share it, like it, more info is coming this week. Updates this week will include pricing and the reason behind the pricing. Insider knowledge on the sneaker industry from a beginner’s point of view.

Stay motivated.

The Allen: Pictures From The Factory

November 18, 2011

The top panel box label

The Allen: Casual shoe is on its way!!!! I’m excited as usual, but now comes the hard part. I have to sell the sneaker. I still have a photoshoot to do for The Allen and I have to get the marketing materials right, but I think the colorway is classic for this time of year and may replace Timbs as an alternative shoe for the Fall/Winter months (Well when it isn’t snowing, you get the picture).

Up until this point I haven’t leaked any pics of the shoes, but some shots are in from the factory. Instead of posting them to Facebook, I will post them here. I’d like to get feedback on what you think, but I know it will be hard from the pictures which are not the clear and are packed in boxes. Also included in these photos are shots of other samples of The Allen. These are made with leather and suede instead of canvas. In the production model I will use denim and canvas and not leather on the side panels. Okay I’m shutting my mouth and letting you check out the pics prior to shipment. The boxes are in and I have to fold and make those, I also have the labels pictured above coming in. Hard work indeed but this is great.

Stay Motivated

Not a great shot, but you get the idea

This is the limited release Allen: Sand, these are not great pics, but just a preview. Let me know what you think

Insoles

A box full of Sand

The Allen: Casual, Mature, Jazz Aesthetic – November 2011

October 27, 2011

Mock Sketch of The Allen

After a long summer of testing and trouble with ebay, all of the setbacks, hopes, dreams and redeveloping my business plan have led to this, The Allen. When I first launched ARCH, my first release was The Tori. The shoes that followed went back to my athletic roots. The Allen can be considered a low cut version of the Tori, but with a bit more cool. If you have been following the site and the ARCH story, you know the CG097II was supposed to be the next release. The problem is running shoes are technical, but that isn’t the reason for the change of heart. Running shoe sales tend to slow down in the winter months. Launching a running shoe from a new company with a 90 dollar plus price point is a risky endeavor. (The money to do the running shoe was pretty steep too, but we will gloss over that

The picture above is obviously a sketch and therefore it doesn’t tell the whole story of The Allen and who the market will be. Here is the breakdown of why The Allen will be a classic silhouette.

1. It was not made for the Jordan Brand crowd. My market is not 15-30 years old with this shoe. My birthday this year was special. I realized I had far surpassed the age that most men who were born and raised where I was from were supposed to succumb to the streets or even worse fates. I am a reformed sneaker head who still has a nice collection of sneakers, but what I realized was that I was lacking a casual, mature, jazzy shoe that wasn’t a dress shoe and could be worn on Casual workdays or to a nice club where there was poetry, indee, jazz aesthetics being catered to. I needed a shoe that allowed me to say, I’m getting older, but I’m not trying to revert to a second childhood.

2. The shoe was made for the style conscious man who likes quality materials and realizes that just because I’m old doesn’t mean that I don’t care about fashion. I tend to think that market is the 32-48 year old group. We are the Hip-Hop generation and shoes matter (But that 60 year old dude on X Factor is changing my demographics).

3. When you blend suede and canvas, you not only get a shoe that can be worn in the fall/winter months, you also get materials that are becoming standard since I made the Tori.

4. A leather insole is quality personified.

The Allen is a mature shoe. It’s not for men who care what their friends think about their choice of women. It’s not for men who are afraid to show their intelligence. It’s not for men who can’t appreciate the reunion of Black Star, and who have never listened to A Love Supreme from beginning to end. It’s not for men who don’t treat women with respect. In other words, it’s not for boys. It’s casual, mature, and jazz, personified.

Coming in November in very limited quantities.

Materials: Brushed Suede, denim canvas, leather insoles

ARCH Sneaker Shop on Amazon

October 23, 2011

If you look back through all of the Ebay Articles on the site, you can see how I changed the business model of my Sneaker shop. I have to say I went through more trial and error since June than probably anybody in the biz! It has all paid off though in the culmination of a solid wholesale business and the relaunching of my individual sales through Amazon.

This is what is important about the whole process. It took me until one week ago to launch my Amazon store. It took that long to get approved. I finally launched about a week ago and the sales are starting to increase. What is good about Amazon is that their approval process is stringent and takes time. No random person can decide to set up a store. You have to already have your own online store and evidence of the site actually working.

I like Amazon because there is protection for both the seller and the buyer. Payouts occur twice per month and is ACH wired directly into your account. It takes a few days for the transfer to happen but you don’t have to transfer the money a second time like with Paypal and Ebay. Most important, you can’t sell fakes on Amazon since they require a full UPC that syncs with the actual Nike UPC code. A person can leave a negative comment, but if you get one, you deserve it more than likely. Ebay works for a lot of people, but I like the idea of setting a price and that’s it. No bids or anything else. If a person wants the shoe and you have it, it sells. I also have the opportunity to use Amazon Fulfillment which is pretty nice.

Take a few minutes to check out the Amazon ARCH Sneaker Shop and hit me with any questions about the process if you have them.

Chris B.

WWYWT? Running at Shelby Farms

October 2, 2011

: Woodland Park Shelby Farms

Actually I was supposed to post this on Friday. After playing some backyard soccer with my son and daughter, and basketball as the workout during the week, we took a family day to Shelby Farms in Memphis. They have an incredible park for the kids named the Woodland Discovery Park, which is surrounded by bike paths and trails. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to get in a run out of the neighborhood. I only intended to run about a mile, since I was not familiar with the trails, but about 1 mile in I pulled a Bugs Bunny and took a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

So instead of a 1 mile jog, I ended up running past the Pavillion taking a turn and entering one of the older trails that was off of the new path. Since I was lost, I just kept running and saw some of the coolest parts of the park, that I’m sure I wasn’t really supposed to see considering I ran across a family of deer.

One of the many trails

Yep I ran far enough to actually experience wildlife and a mouth full of a swarm of gnats or some random bugs. I ended up gone for about 35 minutes, but with the change of scenery I kept a great pace and pulled off about 3.5 miles. My biggest issues when running is still my weight overall and actually my shoes. The CGs are going flat, and it’s about time. My feet actually were sore a little the next day, but overall it was a great run and my goal now is to find various locations and run them throughout the city of Memphis. Maybe I will keep everyone posted and you can join me, beat me, run past me… whatever you do get up, get out and do something.

Stay Motivated

WWYWT? What Was Your Workout Today?

September 20, 2011

Wii Training… Okay now that you are done laughing I dare you to take Wii Sports for a test drive. As far as motivation is concerned, it’s tough to get to the gym sometimes and when you are working through a calf injury like mine, you have to stay active and running on a calf injury for a 6-2, 220-5lb guy can wreak havoc on your legs and lower back. In other words, as much as I have grown to love jogging, I can’t do it with this leg injury. I have to find another workout that will allow me to get cardio, stretching, legs and arms in. It is an overall workout.

Okay so this is the key to a great Wii workout using Wii Sports. When you are playing, clear out enough space and perform the actions in the same manner that you would the actual sport. During the workouts make sure you keep a focus on your core, twisting and flexing while making the movements. Here is the breakdown of my workout today.

Wii Tennis: Best of 5. My level is Pro +2000. I do a full body extension with toe raises when serving the ball. I also do squats between matches. When I perform backhands and other swings I use my core and it is basically a trunk twist. This works.

Wii Baseball: I am only at the +1000 level in baseball. When I swing I crouch and make my strikezone smaller which is like going to basketball practice and sitting in defensive position for an extended period, which works the quads and glutes. Instead of simply using the Wii remote and moving it, I use my shoulder and perform a full swing. When pitching I lift my long and step through which is a lunge.

Wii Bowling: Wii Bowling is not a strenuous exercise and simply allows for a cool down before diving into the hardest part of the Wii workout… boxing.

Wii Boxing: If you are looking for a way to get those biceps burning and shoulders toned, Wii Boxing is perfect. Wii boxing is also a great cardio workout. I typically go for 5 bouts. I stay on my toes when I am not boxing and then I use lunges, trunk twists, side bends and I jump probably 200 times during these 5 bouts. My pro level is 2000+ which makes my matches very difficult. Between matches I sometimes get my Billy Blanks on and use the remotes as the height bar to lift my leg which also works on the core.

Wii Golf: After Wii Boxing, golf is a perfect cool down and in all honesty it will work on your real game. Using the correct form for swinging off of the tee is another alternative workout for your core and balance.

Overall my workout on the Wii extends to about 1 hour 10 minutes. If you are having trouble getting motivated to workout, start working on your Wii fitness routine to stay motivated.

WWYWT? What was your workout today?

September 13, 2011

As CCB and ARCH begins to diversify the type of posts on the website, this is becoming one of my favorite posts to write. A year ago when I began making the first CG097, I began to run. The goal was to test the shoe and kind of recapture the level of fitness I had as a college basketball player. 15 years removed from that period and 6 years removed from running everyday with my high school basketball team, I was 260 lbs. At 6-2 it was hard to see that I was that heavy, but I felt it. So to test the shoes before I launched them, I began running on the treadmill and then on the street. Over the past year and a half, through multiple injuries and a persistant calf strain I ran. Through work and entrepreneurship and the selling of the first CG I ran. I increased my mileage from half a mile, to 1 mile, to 2 miles, reverted back to one after sitting for a while to heal and finally made it to 3 miles this year.

Today, I ran 3.5 miles or in other words a 5K for the second training day in a row. I am now at a steady weight of 220-225. Which isn’t steady but considering the amount of weight I lost this is an incredible thing. I feel that it should motivate you to get up and attempt conquering your own weight loss goals through jogging. While there is considerable shock to the joints, once your legs build up strength you will begin to see the benefits physically and in your breathing. I feel better, and I have less physical pain overall.

Todays Distance: 3.5 miles. On the street with multiple hills and grassy as well as concrete areas.

Shoes: CG097 II GA – The shoe continues to hold up and while the foam is beginning to compress and shred (due to the harsh streets and my weight) it is holding up very well. I have to say that, no exaggeration, the shoe is the lightest most comfortable shoe I have. I worry though, that the use of foam in the forefoot may feel awkward to some people because it is almost like walking and running barefoot. You can feel the placement of the foot which I know strengthens the feet and legs and makes running a lot better. It feels more natural. I think a lot of people may prefer a stiffer more motion control type shoe.

Time of the run: 9:42 to 10:20. It was a long run and contrary to what I thought the sun is actually pretty hot right now. It had been cooling down. I am still running through the calf muscle injury because I just can sit and ice anymore especially when it seems that as soon as it is healed, I run and it begins to strain again. It’s not so bad, but I can’t really forefoot strike right now and I am using very short strides to avoid toeing off too much.

Soundtrack: Rage Against The Machine – If you don’t feel like running, just put on bombtrack and every political frustration you have will come into your head and you will run through them and remember “How long, not long, because what you reap, is what you sow.”

Great run today.

WWYWT?

WWYWT: What Was Your Workout Today?

September 9, 2011

I was using Facebook Notes to do my updates for WWYWT? So today I decided to come back to the blog. For the past 2-3 weeks I was using the Wii for my workout. Don’t laugh… I dare you to do 10 matches on Wii boxing and 5 matches on Wii Tennis and then round it off with baseball, bowling and 9 holes of golf. It’s an incredible workout. Seriously. I was on the Wii because I had a calf strain and I had to rest up but I didn’t want to lose the cardio. With a calf strain it is very hard to toe off which means running is out of the question.

Yesterday I rolled off 2.5 miles. Today I went back to 3 miles. Using the Wii actually strengthened the muscle because in boxing I was lunging and in tennis I was doing toe raises. So how did I do today?

Distance: 3 Miles on the road with several medium hills and one very big hill.

Time: 9:40-10:15 Not a very good pace at all. But those hills were tough. 35 minutes total.

Style: A combination of forefoot striking and heel to toe. My feet begin to roll towards the end.

Shoes: CG097II I continue to love the lightweight feel of the shoe. Although I can feel a lot of the rocks in the street, the lack of weight allows me to keep a solid stride instead of dragging my feet. In most shoes for big guys the shoes add another 5 lbs which over the course of a 5K can really slow you down.

Soundtrack: The Reunion Mixtape- Talib Kweli and DJ High Tek. Excellent running music.

Get up, get out and do something!

Stay motivated.

The Post Apocalypse… Kicks and Adjustment

August 31, 2011

Okay, the last few months I have been writing an update on my movement away from Ebay. I officially conceded victory to Ebay in my last post. I will not hate on Ebay for being the company that they have grown to be. I will not hate on any company for successfully implementing a plan and making it work. I realized that I will not be able to generate the kind of money I was making on Ebay through my own website. I tried several other websites and they didn’t work at all. How have I been able to overcome my blues?

I sat down and restrategized. I used a connection to gain access to a lot of kicks at one time. The problem is I placed that contact in jeopardy because I wasn’t supposed to purchase so many shoes. However that initial purchase of over 150 pair of kicks created a great opportunity to wholesale. Once I realized that I couldn’t sell kicks through my site, I went into wholesale completely and I also added a local market to my routine. How has this helped? It has enabled me to catch up and generate a pretty good wholesale business. Just this week I was able to move over 80 pair of Air Jordan Vs and I just brokered one of the biggest deals in sneaker history. Over the next few weeks I will probably move around 500 pair of kicks. I also picked up a lot of website work and consultant work.

There is something very interesting taking place in the sneaker biz. A lot of people are flipping and buying. This is going to create a problem and everything that I have gone through, everyone who is in this biz is going to encounter these problems. The true measure of success will be how well you come out once the turmoil is completed. The turmoil for me is finally at an end. I am not producing the 7-10K I was producing, but I am back at a level a little bit away. In the end, I’ve come out okay and it seems that I will have something no other sneakerhead in the country will have. At the end of September I plan to produce the revised CG097II and when you see it, you will know.

Part 9 – Me vs Ebay: I lost, so what’s next?

August 29, 2011

If you haven’t been following the story you can check back through the blog and read the Moving from Ebay series. If you don’t feel like doing that, then here is a recap: In June, I was on my way to becoming a powerseller on Ebay. I was generating around thousadns a month from the sell of sneakers and at my local market I was also making thousands. Life was great. Then some character on Ebay said I sold him a pair of Air Jordan 9 Retro (University/White/Black) that were not authentic. Nevermind that I had the receipts from a local sneaker boutique, the pictures of the shoes, box labels and all of the relevant information to prove authenticity, Ebay sided with the buyer. This was the kicker though, the guy was trying to sell my shoes on his Ebay page! He had them posted and was pushing them, but I guess he couldn’t get them sold at the high price so he wanted his money back. I told ebay all of this and sent them the receipts, but in the end they closed my account and my Paypal.

I had to find an alternative. I tried Ebid.net and it was a complete failure. I attempted to use Ecrater, but the site was very shaky although it gave me an alternative to list the shoes. I implemented what I thought was a cool feature on my own site an Auction. It worked. This told me that my site could generate sales, but the problem is the type of people visiting only wanted Js and I carry running shoes, various brands and my focus is not on beign high end. I can do that without a problem but I like to carry a lot of cost effective kicks. You can visit my Sneaker Shop.

After three months of attempting to beat Ebay, today, August 29th, 2011 I concede. Ebay has won. This is not a reason for sadness however. What I learned over this time is that when something is so entrenched in the mind of the people they will only do that one thing even if they can get a better deal.

Here is my final input on Moving From Ebay, try to stay on as long as you can, but if you are just starting do what my man Kelso did at Step By Step Sneakers. Build your base through sneaker shows, facebook, and visiting different pages and dropping your website out there. Only have one primary location that you can be reached. Don’t rely too heavily on Ebay for sales. If sales are low at the start just deal with it and let sells be slow. When you allow Ebay to be your only base, there is always a chance that they can pull the plug on you. My biggest issue was that I had too many websites and my traffic has always been spread out. The key to success is launching the site after building a following.

I am currently awaiting my acceptance into Amazon’s sneaker seller community. The next article I write about selling kicks will be about this process. Thanks for following this short series and keep checking back for updates on ARCH and the sneaker shop.

Chris B.

ARCH 1 of 1 Program

August 19, 2011

: ARCH 1 of 1 Program

The ARCH 1 of 1 Program is a unique venture that caters to true sneakerheads who have always wanted to own a pair of sneakers that were REALLY exclusive. The theory behind the ARCH 1 of 1 Program happened when ARCH worked with Neimaj Footwear to help the company make a limited run of their Mississippi State shoe.

After working so hard to establish the contacts to create my own brand, I realized that a lot of people wanted to do what I do. It only occurred to me after the Neimaj project that I had the necessary knowledge and contacts to help others to create their own brand…the process of which is called microbranding. I am calling this the 1 of 1 Program.

So how does this project work? People who decide to participate in the program will be allowed to put together their shoe from the silhouettes and materials listed below, and submit a logo that can be embroidered onto the shoe. Outsoles and styles will be limited, but this is to prevent higher costs for what will be a sample. If you are aware of how samples are made, then you get the idea.

Each individual shoe will cost 1000.00 dollars. Sizes are limited to men’s sizes 6-12. You will be required to pay a deposit of 50% of the total cost once I agree to produce your sample (I will forward you an invoice by Paypal that can be kept as a record of receipt). Once this fee is paid, the design will begin and you will approve the design. We will then begin the submission process and your shoe will go into production. Once the mock drawing of your shoe is approved I will send you the picture. When the shoe is complete you will get a picture. Once you have the pictures of your actual shoe, you will be billed another 500.00 which includes shipping. In 4-6 weeks you will receive the production sample of your footwear. You can either keep the pair for yourself or consider placing your design into production by making a minimum quantity order of 300 pair.

To get started follow these steps:

1. Choose one of the silhouettes below.

2. Tell us what colors you would like to use and be specific. Use a color palette if you must.

3. Send us a vector file of your logo (please keep your logo one color with clean lines and edges. Photo must be a minimum of 500 x 500 pixels

4. Choose your materials from these choices: a) leather b) canvas c) suede d) mesh e) durabuck

5. Shoe string color (We will determine color blocking based on the shoe string color.

6. Combine all of this information and send it to me at cburns@arch-usa.com. Please place in the subject line: ARCH 1 of 1 Project

Casual Running Shoe

High Top Shoe

Lowtop Shoe

Summer 2011: What I’m Working on Now-ARCH CG097II

August 18, 2011

CG097 II GA

Okay it’s been a couple of years and I’m right back to square one again, starting over. When I made the basketball shoe sample it drained the funds. I began selling more Nikes, Adidas and various brands to recoup. I was making great headway and was generating between 4-6K per month with ebay and street hustling. The money was coming back in. I had stopped working and was focusing solely on sneakers because I could. I paid for the new samples of the CG and took design cues from Ian Gale. He stressed changing the materials for looks. I didn’t realize that this would also create a lightweight jogger. First though the ebay stuff.

If you’ve been following my updates on www.centercourtbasketball.com then you know that I lost a lot of income due to a crappy resolution on ebay. I had raised enough money to take a vacation and pay for the samples of the new CG. Everything was rolling along and then I got back from vacation. I was supposed to take a month of testing on the CG and then place a production order. The problem was I returned and the location where I sold shoes had been shut down because the people selling counterfeits had been busted by the cops, DEA, ICE, Homeland Security, basically everybody. The problem was they also took out us legitimate vendors by closing the whole place down. That hurt, but losing my ebay account added to the problem and led to a situation where I also lost that extra 3k per month. Just like that I was working on reserve money and I couldn’t complete the order. All of this has been within the last two months. I made a great running shoe and now it’s on the shelf until I raise enough capital to get it completed.

Side and bottom

When running a business decision making is difficult. You never know what is going to happen, but you keep pushing along. Here are the pics of the updated CG097II. It has been testing very well and the switch to a combination of smaller compressed foam, and rubber in sections along with a small TPU has created a lightweight running shoe that will be perfect for a fall launch since I kept the panels from the original shoe. The outsole was inspired by a Nike Hayward design and an Adidas torsion system. Both great running shoe features. I’m excited about this shoe and the goal is to get back in a position to make the shoe without any debt. That means some serious hustling.

Winter 2010 – Spring 2011: The ARCH Basketball mistake

August 17, 2011

I’ve been involved with basketball for almost half of my life. It was only natural for me to want to make a basketball shoe. I had already made a hoops shoe with SHO-SHOT Athletics and I sold 1200 pair. It took almost a year, but I did it. The thing was this time I understood that Nike controls 94% of the basketball footwear market and that I was going to be fighting an uphill battle.

The worst part of this was that I had sold 120 pair of running shoes and instead of making more running shoes, I dumped the profit into the basketball samples. Really bad mistake that drained the company and forced me into selling various brands instead of continuing to brand myself.

Enough of that here are the pics of the samples that made me a dumb entrepreneur. I write this to say that maybe your feedback can help me get back on track. The hoops samples are dope, but I don’t think it’s a smart idea to pursue which is why I’ve moved back to the CG. Here are the pics. Technology The first two pair feature outsoles that utilize foam and a flexible medial for smaller players. The second two use 3D which is my theory of how air should be used in a shoe. I placed holes that ran from one side to the other creating a pocket of air that adjusts to the amount of air a player displaces. I really like these samples, but chances are this shoe will never see the sun.

ARCH Summer 2010 – CG097 Running Shoe

August 17, 2011

After the success of the Tori, I decided to get back to my roots in sports. Since I don’t play basketball as often as I use to, I decided that I would dive into training. My background as a NFHS certified coach and my camp coordinator experience led to the creation of the CG097 running shoe. I developed an idea called P Grip which placed rubber lugs where the foot strikes the ground during running. The goal was to minimize the amount of rubber to decrease the weight. The concept was great but the actual production model of the shoe looked akwward because of the outsoles use of foam. The shoe took its inspiration from two of my favorite brands: New Balance and Nike. The name was derived from my boot camp company 097 and my point guard who was murdered in San Diego last year: Courtney Graham. I made only 120 pair of these shoes and sold out. I took the profits though and did something that wasn’t smart. I worked on a basketball shoe sample. I should have continued making colorways. The cost of my samples drained my resources and I haven’t released a shoe since the summer of 2010.

Chris Dixon the winner of the Future Sole Jordan Brand contest made the white colorway. The video below is of me running in the original sample. My current CG097II takes its cues from the original sample and uses a blend of two technologies, but remains faithful to the lightweight concept of using foam.

1st sample

Chris Dixon colorway

production blue/grey

P-Grip

ARCH 2009 – 2010: January Release

August 16, 2011

I eventually thought I should revise the Status, but in the end the shoe was never released because my Jordan influences were too evident. I felt that if I made a new shoe it should have its own identity so I scrapped it. My next project was the first shoe that I put into production and it was pretty successful. I made a run of 400 pair. The shoe was named after my daughter’s nickname: Tori. The Tori was a stylish, casual shoe that featured suede and leather with a strap and a cupped sole. The shoe sold for between 50-80 dollars based on where I was selling it. It was listed for retail at 99.00 on the label. I still see these walking around every now and then which is very cool. Here are the pics of the shoe and the commercial shot by EternalLove and Cinematic Delights.

ARCH Since 2009: The Status

August 16, 2011

This page will be dedicated to all things ARCH and will be a timeline of what I’ve done in setting up this company. You will be able to see my influences and the developments I’ve made so far and where the company is now. First up is the first shoe I produced under the ARCH label and the first samples. Pictures only with a small amount of explanations.

My first shoe was called the Status and was not sold. I used it as a giveaway to reach out to various websites. Something interesting happened though. When I sent the shoes out, I was literally black balled within a few months. Every sneaker website in the country removed whatever article there was about my little company. I don’t know why this happened, but it did. Anyway, here is a pic of the Status sample and the Status release. These were my first two shoes:

WWYWT?: What Was Your Workout Today?

August 2, 2011

Since I redesigned the website I erased a lot of information on the update of the CG097II running shoe. I will try to update as much as I can here. I took about 9 days off from running to concentrate on the business since the big collapse from ebay and the market. Read about that below. Big mistake in regard to my conditioning. I was getting my mile back to under 10 minutes and moved back to 2-3 miles per day. Today, just to get the feel back I ran a short distance, but I used long strides.

Distance: 1.1 Miles on the sidewalk with one medium sized hill.

Temperature: 90 degrees, heat index 95.

Notes: I am still working on my forefoot strike form to reduce injuries, knee and hip pain, and it is working. My calf muscles are burning and it feels like my achilles is straining some, but there isn’t any pain at all, just tightness. I was able to complete the mile without resorting to using my whole foot when I felt slightly tired.

Shoe Notes: I have had the sample for over a month now and Ian and I have redesigned the shoe. We lowered the collar around the ankle which is the biggest change. Ian suggested an increase in the size of the logo and an added heel pull tab. I wish I could go ahead and make another sample and do the order, but finances have slowed the project down considerably. Which is perfect since the side panels on the shoe were made for Fall running and wear. Back to the shoe. The foam is beginning to compress, which place the foot closer to the ground when running. This isn’t a bad thing. I can feel the ground and I am responding a lot better and not resting my feet between each footstrike. I am staying on the balls and midfoot where the rubber is on the shoe. I have been using the outside of the my foot some and the foam is shredding some, but the shoe is still very responsive. It is still an 8 out of 10. I need to decide on the shoe insert. The thicker foam insert slips some although it does provide additional cushioning, heavier runners may feel some problems with stability.

Soundtrack: Mos Def “Roses” from The Ecstatic 3:42 seconds, Fashawn “Intro” from Boy Meets World 2:17, DJ Quik feat. AMG “Trouble” from the Best of DJ Quik 3:39, Mos Def “Ghetto Rock” from The New Danger 2:00 minutes. Total time 11:00

Overall: Not a very good time, but that’s my fault for taking all of that time off. Anyway, What Was Your Workout Today?

stay motivated

The ARCH Sneaker Store and CCB Have Combined

July 28, 2011

If you had this page bookmarked please click this link and use the CCB Homepage. ARCH and CCB have been combined to streamline the work. When the NBA season returns you will be able to read updates and buy kicks in the same location! Thanks for visiting and click here to read new posts: www.centercourtbasketball.com

Part 8: Moving From Ebay – Weekend Update and Websites

July 25, 2011

Click the pic to read another guys f-ebay story

July is like the longest month of the year and in Memphis, it’s the hottest. Almost every day has been 100 plus. This makes it real hard to stay motivated, but I am consistently challenging and changing the business profile as I continue to work on strategies to help other sneaker lovers out there, move and retake their power in this biz. If you haven’t been checking up on this. I have moved on from ebay, after one of the worst customer service problems ever. I have been documenting this move and just to update you here are all of the links to each article. Once again, the reason I’m doing this is because I just think sneakerheads and small biz people have to have information available. I may not be Nike, or Adidas, but I can teach and if I have info, not sharing is like having a fresh pair of kicks and never wearing them, well wearing them at least once. Here are the backlinks:

Part 1: Copping Sneakers For A CustomerPart 2: Sneaker Shop UpdatePart 3: I Found A New Way To AuctionPart 4 Another Way to BidPart 5 Check out how Ebid LooksPart 6 Updates and InformationPart 7 Don’t Forget Your Refund

My latest update includes the relevant information to help you make an informed decision on how to recreate your website. I am also going to give you the quick list of wholesale kicks I’ve moved this week into the weekend. The www.ebid.net auction site has not worked out at all and I will let my account expire at the end of the month. It will take more sneaker people to move from ebay for ebid to be formidable in the sneaker community. Once again, I’ve posted my Facebook Ad stats and I will say this about Facebook, actually read what I’ve written here: Is Facebook Good For Small Biz? Facebook has so many of the fake Nike/Jordan boot posts that legitimate sneaker heads are being blocked and spammed because people are tired of seeing it. This is a problem Facebook needs to fix or the sneaker community will have a lot to say about it. So this past week was good. Did a wholesale deal for a client that gave him True Blues, AJXI Lows, and Retro Foams for an average of 105/pair. He is a great customer and it was basically private shopping. I didn’t use any of my own cash. I also made a move to a new market locally. My three day total from the new market with no traffic was 910.00. Not bad for about 100 people total coming through. I think I may have found my spot to set up in for the next few months. As the heat begins to die down, the amount will undoubtedly rise.

On to the information, this is really a repost from something I posted on www.stepbystepsneakers.com Facebook page. Since Kels is going through a redesign, which is good since he is making the site cleaner and more accessible, people are giving him information on the site and one of the comments was that he should use Big Cartel. What most people don’t realize is that sneakerheads are in a unique position of authority. The problem is sneakerheads give their power away because of fear. They are afraid to sit on shoes so they give ebay insane amounts of fees to list, they pay Big Cartel monthly fees for pages that they can’t monetize, they give paypal money from every transaction and then most of them don’t have accounts with Fed Ex, or UPS and they miss out on great discounts as well as getting their sneakers to customers maxima cum celeritate (With Great Speed). That’s latin. I’m keeping it edumucated. Here is my response:

You should not use Big Cartel. Not hating on the product, but WP (www.wordpress.org) offers a ton of various looks that can create clean and simple layouts, but there are also premium templates that can be purchased once without monthly fees. You know like I know that sneakerheads like to see more than one pic for authenticity so if you buy a premium store template from WP you can set up a store that is more concise and doesn’t charge you monthly fees on top of the paypal transactions. Big Cartel looks good and is a great starting tool, but you could definitely make sure you have 3rd party hosting, install WP and then purchase one of the store formats (This blog has a great update on WP E-Commerce) and go from there. Not to mention I don’t think you can monetize bigcartel. No one is too rich not to have ads.

Sneakerheads have to take their power back from ebay and begin recouping some of the crazy fees these companies are making. Big Cartel is nice if you only post one pic it’s free and you advertise for Big Cartel in your sneaker shop name, so other people set up big cartel. The minute you have to add discount codes or an extra pic it’s 9.99 a month and up. Every little bit helps when you are starting out. Why am I posting these updates? It’s important to share information. I’m bringing control back to sneakerheads everywhere through these posts! Spread the word and if you run, buy some kicks below.

Stay motivated, Chris B.

Part 7: Moving From Ebay: Don’t Forget Your Refund

July 19, 2011

booebay

I found a new pic

Okay in the last couple of updates I’ve told you about the Facebook Ad and the Google Ad as well as moving to ebid.net. While the traffic still hasn’t picked up on my website yet, I have found a new local spot to setup my market and I think it is going to go great. Recently the counterfeit/variant Nike Flea Market was busted here in Memphis. The market sold at least 50,000 in fake kicks each month. That is a low estimate. I used to setup at the same market and because I sold authentic shoes I could sell my shoes without hiding. I spoke with one of the guys who used to sell fakes and he told me on his best day he made 12,000 dollars! I know this is a little off topic, but 12,000? Dizzam.

Anyway, I am now the only legitimate seller of kicks at the market which has now moved across the street. When they busted the market they brought in Homeland Security, ICE, USPS investigators, SWAT and I think it was the biggest bust of knock offs in the US. Since people are still showing up, not in the same numbers, I think I will be selling a lot more kicks. Some people will be bothered by the higher prices, but I set up on Sunday and in 2 hours I made 385.00 dollars. Not bad at all. While the website is still taking some time to grow this will be a good trade off for my patience. Now back to the title of this post: Don’t forget your refund.

When ebay incorrectly closed my account I didn’t even think about checking the balance on my fees. I always paid my fees with they were the highest. Since I was selling so many shoes, I didn’t worry about it. I would pay through paypal and stay on top of it. What I didn’t realize 4 weeks ago when they decided to close the account was that I had paid so much into the fees I had several hundred dollars negative in the account. For the last four weeks ebay had my money and I didn’t know until they sent out the monthly billing and I noticed that my account was in the negative. If you have closed your account on ebay, don’t forget to check your balance and get your refund. More updates on moving from ebay to come. I appreciate those of you who have sent messages and supported ARCH through this transition.

Moving From Ebay: Part 6 Updates and Info

July 16, 2011

febay

I just like this pic.

Okay so someone asked me in person, instead of here on the site, why am I writing about my struggles. They said that most people who are in the same business hope that you struggle instead of identifying with what you are going through. No one thinks what happened to you will ever happen to them. I explained back, that I’m not doing it for them, I’m doing this for people who are looking for information. People go through rough patches all the time and most of them give up. If they can see what I’m doing then maybe they will keep pushing. That is why I keep updating this analysis. When the site begins to move again, then there will be a foundation for workshops and that opens a new door. Enough of that. Read more »

Part 5: Check out how Ebid Looks

July 14, 2011

Those of you who have been reading about my transition from Ebay to my site are aware that I just setup an Ebid store. If you haven’t here are the links to those posts about establishing an online store. I am also linking to Ebid so other sneaker lovers can check out how the bids look and work. Take your power back from Ebay and learn something new.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

ARCH by CCB Ebid (Auction Site) very cool setup!

Moving From Ebay: Part 4 Another New Way to Bid

July 12, 2011

Eff Ebay

F Ebay, yep I said it.

Alright in my last update on moving away from ebay I attempted to use a plugin that allowed me to host bids here on my site. The problem was although I paid 50.00 dollars for a Facebook Ad, it increased my likes on my fan page, but it did not translate into people visiting the site and writing comments or trying to bid. I’ve been off of Ebay officially for over 2 weeks now and the only sells I’ve made in that time were all wholesale deals to buyers I already work with. I also sold a couple of pair at my local market. Read more »

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