Call for Entries
Deadline: April 30, 2008
In partnership with renowned shoe-giver, TOMS Shoes, AIGA/LA invites designers and artists (and shoe lovers, too) to share their sole vision, while supporting the TOMS mission and benefiting the AIGA/LA Scholarship Fund.
Create the Next TOMS "It" Shoe
Simply purchase a pair of blank, white canvas TOMS Shoes to customize with your unique design.* The winning entry will be featured as a TOMS Limited Edition, and sold on TOMS website.
Giving Back
When you purchase your "blank canvas" shoe for $40, everyone benefits. For each pair you buy, TOMS will give a pair to child in need on your behalf. In addition, eight dollars of the purchase price will go to the AIGA/LA Scholarship Fund.
All shoe purchases related to the event will contribute to the upcoming TOMS "Shoe Drop" slated for Ethiopia in May 2008. We need 350 AIGA/LA pairs to sponsor a village. Tell your friends!
If you win...
Not only will your winning design inspire one of the next TOMS Shoes Limited Edition and be on TOMS website, but it will also be featured at the 2008 L.A. Defines Design / Design Defines L.A. Event.
About TOMS
TOMS Shoes, which Blake Mycoskie founded in early 2006, are modeled after the classic Argentine shoe, the alpargata. The shoes are composed of high quality, durable materials including lightweight, breathable canvas, resilient soles and a soft leather lining. They have garnered a celebrity following including Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Sienna Miller, Renee Zellweger, Tobey Maguire, Jessica Biel, Benicio Del Toro and many others. TOMS are available in Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Urban Outfitters, and specialty boutiques throughout the country. In 2007, TOMS Shoes was honored with the prestigious People's Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and Smithsonian Institution.
5 Steps to Good-Deed Shoe Design
1. Buy a blank white pair of TOMS Shoes (cost only $40)
2. Design shoes
3. Send in photos of your fabulous creation
4. Contribute to two great causes (TOMS Shoes Mission and AIGA/LA Scholarship Fund)
5. The winning shoe will be replicated as a TOMS Limited Edition and sold on TOMS website.
Order your TOMS Shoes and enter the contest. Choose a men's or women's white or natural shoe.
Input the special code AIGA at checkout in order to participate in the contest. TOMS will then email you specific instructions for how to submit your entry.
Note: Please make separate orders when ordering multiple pairs.
Call-for-Entries Deadline: April 30, 2008
All shoes purchased by AIGA/LA contest participants will contribute towards the TOMS Shoe Drop planned for May 2008.
*Design should be such that replicating in large quantities for retail sale is feasible.
What a fantastic opportunity. It will be neat to see what everyone comes up with. It has been years since the birdhouses, clocks and skateboards. I can see some cool kicks coming out of this.
This is an excellent idea. What a great way to help someone and get a cool pair of kicks. I'm excited to be a part of the Sole Search Project. I'm getting my Tom's this weekend and forwarding this entry to all of my artist friends. Every designer needs a program like this.
I received the poster for this event in the mail.
The letter 'I' is not a number and therefore shouldn't be preceded with a # in the return address.
In addition, the tagline in the return address is incorrect. It should read: the professional association for design.
Thought you'd like to know.
Who is judging the contest? People from AIGA/LA? People from Toms?
Will all submissions be shown at the defines/designs event? (Or on this website?) Is this event going to be similar to past patrons' nights where people created clocks, birdhouses, etc?
What's the status? How many of the 350 shoes to sponsor a village have been sold so far?
i am sending this as an email to my entire design team!
Inquiring designers want to know.
Inquiring designers want to know. The flyer says April 18th, but this webpage says April 30th. Has the deadline been extended?
Do you have to order the shoes online to participate? They don't have my size, and I know a few shops that do. And as paula asked, when is the deadline?
The deadline has indeed been extended until the 30th. I believe you have to purchase your shoes online, but will double check to make sure!
How will the entries find out the results of the contest?
If you buy your shoes at a retail store, design them and photograph them and send in your photos. You can still be part of the contest. Let us know in your email where you bought them... Maybe we can still get credit for AIGA's scholarship fund and ensure a child in need gets a pair too.
where do we send the entries?!!!
To submit your entries, please follow this simple instructions:
Once you've customized your TOMS Shoes please send 4 photos that meet the following criteria:
-2 profile shots of each shoe
-1 top view of each shoe
-1 inner profile shot of each shoe
Image Requirements:
-Image size of no larger than 1.5 MB and longest side should be at least 950 pixels
-JPG or GIF Format
-Have your name included in the filename of each image
-Send an email with image attachments to: aiga@TOMSshoes.com
Very good work.