Treed: Bespoke kicks with a difference
Something special is starting to happen in Suffolk. A talented carpenter called Luke Dzundza is crafting something which is yet to be seen within the world of bespoke trainers. His company, Treed, take new and worn kicks and adapt them to feature real, locally sourced wood.
Handmade, with an incredible eye for detail, the trainers feature wooden elements, for example the Nike Swoosh, which are then coated with resin and built up over time. One drop wrong and the process, which takes hours has to start all over again, but Luke is up for the challenge!
Treed make a concerted effort to reuse and recycle, offering a trainer restoration service, loving repairing and reworking worn kicks, giving them their own unique look. The beauty of these trainers is that everything is unique, even down to the wood grain which naturally creates different patterns in the details added.
Treed’s full package includes sourcing your new pair of kicks, creating them and then creating a handcrafted custom box for you to store them in, featuring a shoehorn, stickers, spare laces, lace pendants and more. Simply put, you will not have seen trainers like this anywhere else before. They are one of a kind in a very special way.
Coming from a background of BMXing, and loving nature, Luke set about creating Treed in 2018, with the ambition to make some kicks that he would want to wear, and find a way to utilise his skills as a carpenter. Through events like Crepe City and many more, Treed have begun to get a strong and dedicated following, recently making a pair for UK rap heavyweight President T, the brand are going from strength to strength.
Luke’s aim is to create trainers which no-one has ever seen before. From hand making laces, to meticulously creating trainer details from scratch, his clear passion for Treed is present in every pair he creates. He wants to make something that is special, and long lasting. Using eco friendly paints for the sole detail, local material for the laces, locally sourced, hand cut wood for the boxes and hand crafting every element, these kicks are a true collectors piece.
“But surely they cost tonnes? “ you maybe saying, but actually Treed’s ethos is to work with people to help them have something they can treasure, so from a restoration of some old kicks, handed back in the original box they came in, all the way up to the full package with every accessory and add on you can think of, which is soon to include a t-shirt that matches the kicks!
Head over to @treed_bespokes on Instagram to see the process of creating these super slick kicks. You can also chat directly to Luke if you have some ideas. He doesn’t just work with Nike!
All images by Ellen Whight, except the portrait of Luke Dzundza by Samuel Fordham
Words by James “Vice beats” Kennaby
