Design your own shoes and 3D-print them at home? It's not cobblers, it's the next step in customised apparel
Australian firm Shoes of Prey says it will be ready, when demand grows and technology improves, to help the women of the world put their best foot forward
The co-founder of Australian online retailer Shoes of Prey, which allows customers to design their own footwear, hopes one day to allow customers to print out pairs at home as technology improves and consumer demand grows for personalised products.
Founded in 2009, Shoes of Prey allows women to create unique designs on its website, choosing from millions of possible permutations of material, colour, style and size. It promises to deliver in four weeks but often manages two.
Jodie Fox, who set up Shoes of Prey in 2009 with former Google Inc employees Michael Fox and Mike Knapp, expects consumer demand for faster delivery to keep rising.
"Ideally we would get to a point where we are able to [deliver] overnight a pair of shoes to you that you designed the day before," Fox says by phone from Sydney.
That will only be possible once advances in 3D printing technology allow the company, which currently ships worldwide from a factory in China, to set up small manufacturing hubs around the globe.
