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arts & culture
KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, OCT. 6, 2016
HOROSCOPES
WHAT'S YOUR
SIGN?
Student builds shoe business via Instagram
Aries
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Get out and explore.
Pursue a dream. Make long-distance connections.
Call ahead to avoid running all over town. Intuition provides the best timing.
Bring home a surprise.
Taurus
Junior Dairionn Billberry, founder of Off Days Customs, works on customizing shoes for customers.
Gemini
Andrea Ringgenberg/KANSAN
deviating.
(April 20-May 20) Collect accounts receivable and pay bills. A project's completion opens up time for something more fun. Reinforce your structure.
by when
Listen to experience.
Master the rules before
deviating.
Cancer
(May 21-June 20)
Collaborate with a partner.
Update recent fact-finding efforts. Sift through the fluff for solid data. Responsibilities fall into place.
Schedule who will do what
(June 21-July 22)
Simple pleasures satisfy;
frills are unnecessary.
Hold onto what you have.
Exercise clears up mental fog. Consider the future,
and desired results. What's missing? Aim for that.
Leo
(July 23-Aug. 22)
Use your wit and charm.
Patience and discipline
also serve you well. Persuade a person who's been waffling to join a collaboration by expressing
your passion.
Virgo
(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Focus on what's best for your family. Play by the rules, and pull together.
Listen to an experienced friend's suggestions. Add love for an unexpected
Libra
bonus.
Scorpio
(Sept. 23-Oct. 22) This is not a good time to learn the hard way. Stay in communication and keep your word. Talk about what you're going through, and listen very closely.
listen carefully.
children).
(Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Keep in action, and cash flows in. Plant constructive seeds. Balance work with rest, exercise and good food. Accept advice from loved ones (especially
Sagittarius
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(Nov. 22-Dec. 21) You know what you want, so go for it. Follow your plan. If in doubt, check the directions and get assistance. Self-discipline pays with a personal dream.
Capricorn
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Keep your wildest ideas private for now. Go ahead and dream; make plans and list the necessary steps. Stick to practical tasks and watch expenses. Visualize perfection.
(Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Contributing to a team effort satisfies. Routine gives you strength. Your friends are really there for you.
Determination and persistence pay off. Intuition reveals hidden treasure.
Aquarius
Pisces
(Feb. 19-March 20)
Find a way around a problem in your work. Begin with basic facts. Determine the source of the issue, and get expert advice before
making a change.
▶ OMAR SANCHEZ
@OhMySanchez
n English class his senior year of high school, Dairi-onn Billberry looked on as his friends, Chris Childs and Maurice Taffe, talked about customized shoes they saw while scrolling through Instagram.
At that point, Billberry, now a junior at the University, didn't know what would come of the conversation.
"Dairionn just came into the conversation," said Childs, a junior at Wichita State University and fellow artist and customizer.
Now, those conversations have grown into Off Days Customs, a Kansas City-area shoe customization and restoration service, which Billberry is responsible for. But how he got there goes further back than that high school English class.
The friendship between Billberry and Childs goes as far back as the fourth grade. After the two met through mutual friends, they remained close as they both went off to the Sumner Academy of Arts & Sciences in Kansas City, Kan.
And then they had the same English class.
Before that day, Billberry had already started to use his artistic talent to customize T-shirts throughout his final year in high school. During that conversation, he said the focus was an opportunity to create a niche in the customization market.
"We had seen on Instagram someone selling customized shoes for like $400 to $500," Billberry said. "And we figured we could do the same thing, but probably charge cheaper and do a better job."
In the future, I see myself being one of the top contenders in this field."
Dairionn Billberry Junior
With that goal in mind and support from those close to him, Bilberry began what would become Off Days Customs through social media during the summer before coming to the University.
On a typical Tuesday or Thursday, Billberry attends class from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A communications major with a minor in business, he
said he molds his schedule to give himself extra time to focus on studying, work, and the shoe customization requests he gets on a daily basis — of which he typically does about two to three a week, he said.
Shoe customization is a time-consuming effort. The drive back to Kansas City for his job at a car dealership on the weekends adds to that time consumption, he said.
"I know a lot more people that would like my work done," Billberry said. "And me going to my actual job is pushing this back and pushing due dates, so it's pushing me toward a direction I don't want to go."
This dilemma is more difficult considering his steady rise in popularity through his accounts on Instagram, currently at 3,600 followers on his main account.
Billberry said he has reached the point where he can consider doing shoe customization full-time, with education still in the picture.
"School comes first, that's always my main priority," he said.
With two years of shoe customization under his belt, Billberry has already done work for high-profile
names like former Kansas basketball players Tarik Black and Ben McLemore.
McLemore met Billberry at the Ambler Student Recreation Center. Intrigued by his work, the now-Sacramento King gave Billberry a pair of Timberlands and, with them, Billberry created a design that represents McLemore's home — St. Louis.
"That one's one of the shoes I put a lot of detail in," Billberry said.
This level of detail in each of his projects, Childs said, is a testament to Billberry's internal growth and, most importantly, dedication.
"With doing shoes and just art in general you have to be confident in yourself and who you are as a person," he said. "He loves the craft and loves what he does. That's what I've seen, just being more mature and growing through the years."
Last year, Billberry got the chance to work with Devlin Braswell, who he considers his biggest inspiration and influence.
At over 99,000 followers on Instagram, where he's known as @fbccbayarea, Devlin Braswell is one of the top shoe customizers in the market right now. Notable
works include a pair of Under Armour Curry 2's for Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton for Super Bowl 50.
The two collaborated in an effort to help the homeless that gave 20 lucky winners a pair of customized shoes.
The end result for Billberry was one of the projects in his career that he holds in the highest regard: Incredible Hulk-customized Nike Foamposites.
It was a challenge that pushed him, he said, but in the end was a rewarding experience. Billberry said he considers himself a student of the game and pushing his work ethic with a project like this and researching ways to improve is constantly on his mind.
"In the future, I see myself being one of the top contenders in this field," he said. "So I have to be a student of the game as anyone else would with their hobby. It pushes me."
You can see more of Billberry's work on his Instagram, @onbigtuss.
- Edited by Christian Hardy
Review: University Theatre starts season with 'Picnic'
@Sambiscuit
SAMANTHA SEXTON
University Theatre started its season with a bang after Friday night's opening performance of "Picnic," a William Inge original, directed by retired theater professor Jack Wright.
Nearly every seat was sold thanks to the worldrenowned playwright and the success of the play's earlier iterations across the country including in New York; and whether it be despite of or because of the hype, the student actors pulled off a fun and engaging production.
The story of "Picnic" is almost reminiscent of Seinfeld's "show about nothing" in that very little is truly resolved and the end just sort of...ends. Regardless, the quick wit and energy kept the audience either laughing or dead silent in anticipation.
When neighbors Helen Potts and Flo Owens, a mother of two, meet a strapping young man (who keeps his shirt off for a good portion of the play), trouble starts to boil. Flo's
With summer coming to a close and school and work approaching, the young and old begin to ask themselves what the next year will bring and if their lives in small-town Kansas are meaningful.
two daughters, Madge and Millie Owens, are forced to face their own shortcomings as they fight over the affections of the newcomer, Hal Carter.
"I am me," Hal says.
"But what is that?"
While the events of the story circle around sex, alcohol and dancing, that question surfaces enough to tease the audience into existential thought while still enjoying the shenanigans onstage.
"Picnic" is the combination of two of Inge's more popular one-acts: "Front Porch," focusing on women of a certain age and the lives they didn't get to lead and "Man in Boots," a story about Hal and a blossoming young romance, according to Wright.
"Picnic" is deserving of the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, "Wright said in his director's note. "Inge
captured the essence of young love with all of its promise."
The audience agreed Friday night, and the show ended to a standing ovation
Performances of "Picnic" will continue in the William
"Inge created a gem of a play that will stand the test of time." Wright said.
and excited applause.
Inge Memorial Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on Oct.6. Tickets can be purchased in person or in advance online.
Samantha Sexton/KANSAN
Samantha Sexton/KANSAN
The set of University Theatre's "Picnic." The show's final performance will be at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 6.
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