From The Times Colonist
"Doreen Carscadden has only to look down at her feet to see what her artistic vision can accomplish.
The Sooke woman has two new pairs of bespoke Birkenstock sandals, made in Georgia in the U.S., that sport images of her own abstract art work — Summer Breeze and Sunny Daze.
She had seen a call for art from the Michael Grey Sandal Factory on social media last year and then again a few months ago. Accepted art would be used on limited-edition Birkenstocks, a type of sandal she has loved since she was a teenager.
The artist chosen would be a “lucky person to get to do that,” she thought.
Carscadden and her husband looked through her works to find two to submit, choosing two which are colourful combinations of watercolours, acrylic paint and collage.
Images of the art were sent to Grey, who replied in just a couple of hours that he would love to collaborate.
The Michael Grey factory is a certified manufacturer of Birkenstocks, which have their origins in Germany in 1774 when cobbler Johann Adam Birkenstock lived in Langen-Bergheim.
“I was in disbelief. I really couldn’t believe it.”
Carscadden even gets goosebumps now while recounting how the project came to be. “It was such a special thing for me. It was pretty cool.”
