Small Business Makers of Custom Sneakers Cash In on Desire for One-of-a-Kind Goods Employees at B Street Shoes custom-painting sneakers at the company's studio in Costa Mesa, Calif. Credit Emily Berl for The New York Times Blake Barash had just left his job as a credit analyst at Union Bank in Irvine, Calif., in 2010 when he saw an ad on Craigslist that changed the trajectory of his life. He had spent an anxious few years navigating the recession and, tired of worrying about when or if he would be laid off, quit his job and started looking for other work. That was when he saw a want ad from the shoe company Toms . It called for an artist to travel to its “Style Your Sole” events at California retailers and paint custom designs on Toms canvas shoes.