NVK New Vintage Kicks
Nicole Sjostedt
The sign outside the store is just like the NYC subway line but, NVK stands for New Vintage Kicks; a new store in Yaletown that features retro, collectable sneakers and urban city street wear. Owner Shane Herrera says, “People keep coming into the store and telling me that this is exactly what Yaletown needed”. Born and raised in Victoria BC, Shane had a love for sneakers and hip-hop growing up. “I’m a sneaker junkie, it was all about records and sneakers growing up and still to this day I feel like a 12 year old kid when I walk into a sneaker or record shop”.
Recently the owner of over 100 pairs of sneakers, Shane has sold over 75% of his collection to fully fund and DIY the store all on his own. He claims he still owns 25 to 30 pairs that haven’t all been worn, with one pair he will not part with; his Lebron James sneakers. “This shoe is just me, I love basketball and these were the shoes Lebron James wore for his first all star game”. Shane is like a sneaker historian, he’ll tell you all about sneakers, when they were made, why they were made, who inspired the shoe and what the new trends are.
With brands like DC Lifestyle Asics, and Nike – dead stock (which is limited in sizes) and more for shoes, and clothing by Obey, Upper Playground and soon his own line of t-shirts, you feel like you are buying something unique and exclusive in his shop. In the next few months, he plans to work on getting some colourful artwork displayed in the store done by local artists as well as creating a Video magazine based on the store that will involve different artists and DJ’s creating a t-shirt that he will run exclusively to NVK. Following through with what he knows and loves this small town boy has brought some old school flavour to this upscale shopping mecca. |
