Myklin Davis ’27 is an artist, a small business owner, a business student, a member of the Shenandoah University Marching Band and pep band, a mock trial team co-captain, a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta honor society and an aspiring attorney who spends most of her Friday and Saturday nights immersed in a creative task: the night owl is hand-painting custom designs on shoes.
“But honestly and truly, I try to paint as much as I can, whenever I can,” she said.
Her customers include retired NBA star and U.S. Olympic basketball gold medalist Vince Carter (two pairs of custom-painted shoes) and radio personality Intern John from Washington D.C.’s Hot 99.5 (whose design was inspired by his dog, Chuy). Word-of-mouth marketing has been essential to the growth of Davis’ small business, Made by Myklin, as has her willingness to get her name before influencers. Davis said Carter became a client after his mother-in-law heard about her business on the radio. In addition, Davis submitted a video for a small business contest held by YouTube superstar MrBeast. She was the runner up in the contest and received a business package from him as well as his support. (He’s not a client – yet, she said.)
Custom-painted high top sneakers for Vince Carter, created by Myklin Davis (Made by Myklin).
Davis, a longtime art lover who is finishing up her first year at Shenandoah, began her business during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown of 2020. “I was dealing with some mental health struggles and boredom from lock down, so I needed a creative outlet,” she said. “I’ve always been an artist, but I had seen a few artists on YouTube paint shoes, and as a shoe lover, I wanted to try it out for myself. I started testing different paints on old sneakers that belonged to my friends and family. Soon enough, I was able to save up and get official acrylic leather paints and bought shoes from Walmart to customize.”
Her initial idea was to sell set shoe designs on the Etsy online marketplace, and her first sale on the platform was to a client in the Netherlands. It was thrilling, she said, to know that her artwork was traveling around the world. Even so, she soon realized that creating set designs wouldn’t be her focus after she designed and painted custom art on baby shoes commissioned by expecting parents. “I loved creating shoes that were designed in the image of the customer . . . [the] designs give the shoes so much more meaning to the buyer,” she said.
Custom-painted sneakers for a dad and new baby by Myklin Davis (Made by Myklin.)
It typically takes Davis four to eight months to complete the custom artwork for a pair of shoes. “I always put school first and always make my customers aware that I am a full-time student before my business. I always set a timeline for myself, if the customer does not have one, and always work enough to get the shoes done by the decided deadline. Sometimes that means a little bit of progress every week over a long period of time, and sometimes that means painting half a shoe in one night,” she said. “Either way, I always put my best-quality work in, whether it is my schoolwork or my custom shoes.”
Davis chose Shenandoah as the place to develop her business skills and prepare for law school because she was already familiar with what the university could offer. Her mother is a Shenandoah graduate, having earned a Master of Science in Performing Arts Leadership and Management in 2021.
“I chose to major in business because I have always had a passion for business, hence the small business, and I think it fits into my career plan for the future, as I want to be an attorney, in which being able to run my own business and understand business will be really beneficial. My concentration is business administration, as I want to be able to work in all aspects of a business if possible,” she said. And, when she considers her future, she always sees her shoe business being a part of it. “Though I love law and am so excited to do that, I refuse to give up customizing shoes, and want to bring design, art and creativity into every aspect of my life.”
