New Yorker Jill Forie describes herself as a full-time teacher, entrepreneur, student, humanitarian, artist and adventurer. At least three of those roles converge in Sink or Swim Custom Kicks, a company she founded in 2009. Since then, she’s painted nearly 400 pairs of shoes for customers both domestic and international. Like many artists, she works on canvas and uses a variety of media (plus a good fabric protectant). Forie, who takes pride in not repeating a design, collaborates with her clients to create custom artwork, images that speak to them specifi cally. You’ve heard the phrase, “wear your heart on your sleeve”? Well, for $150—which includes the shoes—you can wear your co-pilots on your feet and see their smiling faces with every step.