by Brendan Dunne
Sneaker culture's continual expansion has resulted in all sorts of complementary items beyond the basics. There are matching socks made to look like limited shoes, there are tons of t-shirts that do the same, and there are even bongs shaped like Air Yeezys. Then, for the shoe enthuasist with a flair for the flossy, there is sneaker jewelry.
At the top of that game is Greg Yuna, aka Mr. Flawless, who ditched his career in real estate back in 2009 and eventually found his way into the world of custom jewelry. Yuna first got into the game at the behest of his mother, who urged him to get off the couch and go help out at his uncle's jewelry business in Manhattan's Diamond District.
After grinding it out for a couple of months for the wage of $70 a day, Yuna was ready to call it quits. Luckily, his uncle pleaded him to stick around, and Yuna began to see potential when high profile customers like Fabolous and 50 Cent started to come through the shop on the regular. He's been there ever since.
Yuna's passion for footwear eventually led him to create his first sneaker piece, a Converse Chuck Taylor pendant. "I ended up selling it off my neck," Yuna says. "I just made things that I thought I would wear."
The myriad of panels and details of any given sneaker mean that these miniature recreations are tougher to pull off than Yuna's typical work. Yuna named a recently completed Jordan 1 piece, shown right, as the most difficult one that he's done so far.
"You gotta make sure every line is there," Yuna said, "You think you've got everything and then one line is off. Everybody that's a sneakerhead is anal about this stuff."
A piece like the Jordan 1 would cost about $4,500, although selling of these pieces is murky territory. Given how protective a brand like Nike is about anyone profiting off its imagery or designs, it's reasonable to believe that Nike would take issue. "I don't sell them," Yuna insists, "I don't think that would be a good idea...not unless I got a contract with Nike."
More of Yuna's work can be seen below and at Mr. Flawless' website.
