S
econds into our initial introductions to Jordana, her eyes begun to dart between us and a pair of sneakers covered with a vibrant compilation of lustrous red lips, a neon sunset, and banner reading ‘California’ that were splashed across a pair of once-white Vans. If you couldn’t see Jordana rapidly cycle through a rainbow of Sharpie paint pens, it would difficult to grasp how adept she is at balancing her focus on both the conversation at hand and on her miniature, wearable works of art. With a five- month wait for a pair of Sneakers By Jordana, she has to constantly divide her attention in order to churn out the custom sneakers she single-handedly produces. Jordana Schrager’s two thriving businesses, Sneakers by
Jordana and Skicks, began as an after-school hobby in high school when she transferred her innate propensity for doodling onto a pair of white Vans. Her eye-catching, personalized shoes caught the attention of her peers and rapidly sparked an unexpected wave of orders. “It started as something I did for fun, but when I posted them on social media, I gained a lot of followers,” Jordana said. Subsequently the orders began to pour in, so much so that she had 50 orders on average to complete at any given time. When she came to the University of Michigan, she noticed a pretty gaping hole in the student’s collective tailgate wardrobe: spirited footwear. During her freshman year, orders 11