Be Creative Or Be Forgotten. This is the mantra of art-based streetwear label Phidias Gold, headed up by the very talented Wesley Eggebrecht. The unique creations at Katie Blauer are guided by a similar mindset and so collaborating with Wes on a pair of shoes for his fiancé, Kara, was a great match. Wes is known for his illustrative black and white line-work and so it didn’t surprise me that the girl he was marrying chose a wedding gown with a dramatic black bow (even their cat, Tomo, looks like a black and white graphic come to life).

For their wedding invitation (above), Wes used his awesome lettering skills to create a hand–drawn card where all the information is tucked into the shape of the couple’s home state of Michigan. For the shoe design, instead of merely being inspired by this detail of the wedding, I was able to incorporate Wes’s beautiful artwork directly onto the fabric of the shoe (thanks to new technology that allows for printing on canvas). It’s not very often that the groom gets involved in a wedding shoe project, but using Wes’s invitation so literally took our capacity for customization at Katie Blauer to new heights and I’m sure it added even more meaning for Kara when she wore the shoes down the aisle.

Wedding photos by Michael Murphy IV Photography. See more shots of Wes and Kara’s wedding here!