HYDE PARK — Jojayden Luxury Shoes, a handmade men's shoe brand, brings customers style, comfort and, most importantly, affordability, its founder said.
Wale Nubi has been selling his handmade shoes since 2012. While working as an information technology consultant for Fortune 500 companies, he began to have other store owners feature his product. That was his test run, he said.
Once he saw how well his shoes were doing, the resident of suburban Schaumburg decided to open his own store and devote his full attention to it. The soft opening was June 24.
The shop sits at 1457 E. 53rd St. on a busy stretch between a restaurant and hair salon. Nubi said he loves being in the heart of Hyde Park. He said that the owner of Silver Room, 1506 E. 53rd St., encouraged him to open store there because he saw how well sales were for his shoes.
The store offers customers the Jojayden brand, which includes men's shoes, wristwatches, socks, bow ties and belts. Nubi designs all of the products, which are then made in Spain.
He said he didn’t want to leave the women out, so there are shoes and bags for them. He doesn’t design for women, though, so he finds entrepreneurs who do: Some of the merchandise comes from countries such as South Africa, Peru, China and Nigeria.
“Every product you see in the store has a story behind it,” Nubi said. “Most of them are giving back to their community or wherever the shoe is made. The concept of the store is to have several unique quality handmade products from different parts of the world in one store.”
A custom shoe is one that more people should invest in, Nubi said.
“If you wear my shoes, they’ll last you 10 times longer,” he said, adding that the shoes’ soles can be re-sewn. “With a regular shoe you have a year or two and once they’re out, that’s it. These shoes are more like investments.”
Men can build their shoes online. They get to select things like rounded toe or square toe. They choose the color and what kind of material they want like leather, suede or crocodile skin.
Most shoes take about three weeks to finish, and the average price for a Jojayden shoe is anywhere from $150-$400.
Nubi said some might think his prices are high, but when compared to other name brands, he’s affordable.
“At other places these shoes would easily cost a grand,” he said. “I don’t think it’s fair when some brands keep their prices high, therefore, only a few people can afford them.”
Nubi wants to keep his prices lower than competitors so more people can wear quality handmade shoes, he said.
“Buy a Jojayden shoe. It’s not your regular shoes. It’s different. It’s a craft, it’s art, so other shoes can’t even compare," he said.
His love for shoes began as teenager. While living in his native Nigeria, his two older brothers would send name-brand shoes from London. All three wore the same shoe size. He soon had a collection as large as 40 pairs while still in high school, he said.
“At school I was known as the ‘shoe guy,’” Nubi said.
As a young adult he began researching how shoes were made and he would visit shoe factories in different countries. He said he wanted to learn the craft so he would travel to places like Italy and China.
“People travel to go to the beach, but I’m looking for shoe factories because I knew someday I wanted to do my own,” Nubi said.
The store has an area the community can rent out for events that seat up to 50 people.
The grand opening is Aug. 31. There will be a DJ, food and drinks.
Store hours are 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays. Visit the website at www.jojayden.com.
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