At Bont Rowing, some of the custom designs that land on our desks make us smile. Some surprise us. And others arrive with a story much bigger than the shoes themselves.
Custom Bonts have become everything from an extension of club or national colours to something completely personal.
And once you start with a blank shoe, there really isn't a standard answer.
Sometimes you're Swedish. And you really want people to know it.
National colours are an obvious place to start.
We've created the Canadian maple leaf in red and white, Brazil in unmistakable green and yellow, and Slovenian shoes incorporating mountains, landscapes and a dragon.
And Sweden?
Blue. Yellow. Swedish flags.
No explanation required.
Shoes you can see from 2,000m
Subtlety is entirely optional.
Bright orange with electric blue? Absolutely.
Pink, grey and turquoise? Why not?
Purple and white? Go for it.
And there is no rule saying your left shoe has to match your right one.
Rowing has plenty of tradition. Your shoes don't necessarily have to.
Club colours, all the way to your toes
For clubs, schools and crews, custom shoes offer another way of carrying an identity that already exists throughout the boat.
Ballarat City Rowing Club took its familiar blues, crest and graphics and carried them through to its Bonts.
A club design can be as simple as colours and a crest, or something created specifically for a particular crew, event or program. Bulk custom orders are also available for clubs, schools and teams.
Then there are the shoes that tell a story
Sometimes customisation goes well beyond choosing colours.
One of the most detailed briefs we've received came from Canadian rower Felix Wing Chin.
His starting point was three words:
Never Forget Home.
The design became a map of the people, places, sports and experiences that matter to him.
His hometown of Port Credit is represented by a lighthouse. Mountains and trees represent perseverance. Flowers commemorate his mother. His high school and Don Rowing Club are represented, along with the numbers he has worn throughout his sporting life.
Then there are Ellie and Sky, two dogs that have been part of his life, and his cat, Silvy.
Rowing shares the shoes with another of Felix's sporting influences: hockey. His sporting idol, former NHL goaltender Felix Potvin, is represented in the design, with a goalie stick on one strap and a rowing oar on the other.
Wings reference his name, while the words Love and Glory sit on the straps.
And among all those details is another message:
“Pressure is a privilege.”
It's a lot to fit onto a pair of rowing shoes.
But perhaps that's the point.
When Felix originally sent us his sketch, he described them as his “dream rowing shoes.”
Our job was to help turn that idea into something he could actually row in.
You don't need a life story to design a pair
Of course, your custom Bonts don't need mountains, pets, meaningful dates and a philosophical message.
They can be a colour you love.
They can match your club.
Put your name on them
Make the left different from the right.
Keep them understated.
Or create something your coach can identify from the finish tower.
That's the part of custom shoes we've come to enjoy most: seeing what someone does when they start with a blank shoe.
So, what would you put on yours?
Club. Country. Name. Number. A favourite place. Something that means everything to you - or something completely ridiculous that simply makes you smile when you get into the boat.
Rowers spend enough time looking at the back of the person in front of them. Your shoes might as well give them something interesting to look at.
We've now brought our custom options, design templates, sizing information and some of our favourite designs together in one place.