A Co Derry man has described how he turned his hobby of saving old shoes into creating a custom design for music superstar Dua Lipa.
Shea Gribbons, 26, from Maghera has been designing and painting shoes for the last number of years, going full-time in 2019.
The cycling enthusiast previously told MyDerry how his friend, who cycles in Belgium, encouraged him to pursue his passion.
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Since then business has been booming for Shea, creating shoes for a host of cyclists and celebrities including Tour de France athletes Mark Cavendish and Luka Mezgec, and now, singing sensation Dua Lipa.
Shea, who has 20,000 followers on Instagram, explained how the "amazing opportunity" came about.
He said: "When I started doing work like this a couple of years ago, I initially started by doing some work for a company called Velokicks in Australia.
"They manufacture cycling shoes but if the person wants to get them customised then they would come to me and I'd be able to do whatever they wanted, basically.
"Me and Nick, who is the owner, became quite friendly over the years and we built up a good relationship with each other and usually, if something big comes come to them then Nick would usually ask me first if I wanted to do it.
"So, one night I'm about to go to my bed and I received a text from Nick in all capital letters if I wanted shoes for Dua Lipa.
"When you hear that your head starts going, your heart starts racing. It's unbelievable. Never did I imagine I'd be doing these types of projects.
"The pressure that you feel as well is instant. I thrive on the pressure but sometimes when you work on your own there is a different type of pressure there. It sort of builds up.
"The answer was always going to be yes but the timescale that I had was mad. It all had to be done very quickly. We got on it straight away. I was looking for someone to work alongside for the last wee while before I got the offer to do the shoes.
Shea continued: "It was always my next step to get someone and I managed to do a bit of work with a designer who was a student and we got on the shoes straight away.
"We bounced a couple of ideas off each other and got an idea settled straight away. She was doing her world tour that was postponed because of Covid.
"We had about a week and a half to do them, it was mental but we took it in our stride.
"The Toyota Centre in Texas wanted to get her a gift and they contacted Nick who contacted me. He's in his mid-30s so he had to Google who Dua Lipa actually was, but I knew who she was because my sister is 21 and she is a big fan.
"Once she received the cycling shoes we heard back that she actually really liked them.
"Then you've got the highs and the lows of the whole experience. Once you send them to America you realise that that's it.
"You have to ground yourself again and get going for the next big order that's coming through the door.
"And people always assume that I only do cycling shoes but that's not the case. I can literally do any type of shoes that people request.
"The big projects don't come up every day so I do lots of orders for different kinds of people but I definitely have to pinch myself at times."
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