Growing up in Freehold and Howell, sisters Sophie and Casey Beres had very different personalities and interests. But the two seized on their strong relationship and unique skills in 2020 to launch Brushedbysophh, a Monmouth County-based online art shop that offers hand-painted/brushed sneakers and clothing designed to support every customer’s personal style.

“I was always very athletic and into sports, the outdoors and streetwear fashion,” said Sophie, 23, who resides in Monmouth County with Casey.

By contrast, “I was very quiet and spent a lot of time indoors reading, writing and watching movies,” shared Casey, 24. “But we shared the same room until three years ago and were always very close.”

After high school, Casey pursued a science major at Rutgers University for two years, but ultimately realized that it wasn’t an ideal fit. Working as a barista at a Starbucks near Rutgers, however, “I was promoted to a management position and did very well,” she said, noting that the opportunity soon led to a similarly successful role in property management.

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As for her younger sister, “I took a year off after high school to figure out what I wanted to do,” said Sophie, who ended up going to Brookdale Community College in the Lincroft section of Middletown for a semester.

While she was there, the pandemic hit — and an unexpected new business opportunity presented itself.

“Like many people, I did a lot of online shopping during the pandemic,” Sophie explained. “One of the things I purchased was a pair of sneakers that were advertised as hand-painted with butterflies, but when they came, they turned out to be decorated with iron-on stickers that I could peel right off and I was very disappointed.

"I used to draw a lot and was bored during the pandemic, so I pulled the stickers off, found some images I liked on Google, and went to work hand-painting them myself," she continued. "I posted the finished product on Instagram and the feedback was amazing,” she said, “so I started posting all of my shoe designs on social media.”

Based on the positive response she continued garnering online, “I decided that I was going to do this professionally,” Sophie said of the new venture — Brushedbysophh — that she launched in July 2020. “I love drawing and sneakers, and (the social media video service) TikTok was blowing up, so it was great timing.”

Using machines like a Cricut cutting tool and an airbrush to design on old sneakers that she had laying around at home, “people started requesting products and I was able to slowly expand and build my catalog,” Sophie said.

Within a short time, she added, “the business started blossoming and I decided not to go back to school.”

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Khloe Kardashian and TikTok glory

Some three years later, “I’ve worked on leather, canvas and mesh sneakers, including Nike Air Forces, Converse, Vans and other brands,” said Sophie, who hand-paints everything but uses stencils and/or airbrush techniques for more complex designs.

Among her signature designs, “I do a lot of ‘colorways’ (a technique featuring three different complementary colors in different shades), rhinestone check marks, splatter paint, bleach dyeing, glow in the dark, butterflies, or a combination of colors dabbed on,” she said. Custom sneaker prices range from $199 to $399 based on the level of detail requested and include the sneakers (which she sources from a variety of outlets), shipping and design.

Encouraged to join forces after all of their friends and family members thought the sisters would make a great business team, Casey soon came on board to support Brushedbysophh’s growing marketing, back office and social media needs.

“By the end of the first year, we’d direct-messaged several celebrities online and sent them products in exchange for a post,” Casey said. “We somehow got in touch with Khloe Kardashian, who turned out to be a great social media-driven proof of business for us early on. TikTok was a monster of its own during the pandemic and Sophie tapped into a niche in the custom sneaker space that didn’t previously exist — that of relaxation-inspired “satisfying” visual videos on TikTok. She posted a video of her steady hand painting a perfect line on a sneaker and it blew up on TikTok and reached more than 140 million people.”

Since then, Sophie said, “Demi Lovato and JoJo Siwa have become customers, we’ve collaborated on shoes with brands like Chips Ahoy! and Barstool Sports apparel, and have collaborated with such TikTok influencers as Avani (who has 43 million followers), Bryan the Diamond (who has 6.5 million followers), and our own brother Sambucha (who has 3.5 million followers).”

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“People want to make a statement with their sneakers,” Sophie said of the current trend in street-smart footwear. “People want something that’s one-of-a-kind and that makes them feel good, and these items create special gifts too. For example, some customers ask for matching mom-and-daughter or dad-and-son sneakers, and matching sneakers for brides and grooms or for entire bridal parties are a new big thing.”

“Our customers are from all over the globe and our turnaround is typically three to four weeks, but we can fast-track products if necessary,” Sophie added.

'Fashion moves fast'

Working out of a fully functioning design studio in their home, “Sophie does all of the artwork on the sneakers and creates all of the content, while I cover all of the back-end functions, including the content schedule, social media posting, shipping and customer interface,” Casey said.

Among challenges, the Beres sisters agree that staying on top of current trends keeps them on their toes.

“Fashion moves fast and keeping up with the popular designs and characters that will keep our audience engaged can be difficult,” Casey said. “There’s a lot of competition out there and a short window on trends.”

Looking ahead, Casey said that their company will continue expanding Sophie’s signature designs to custom sweatshirts, T-shirts and other apparel and working with celebrities and athletes. “Sophie is also working on tutorial videos that will demonstrate the art of painting on products in an instructional way so that these items can be ‘brushed by you,’ not just ‘brushed by Sophh,’” Casey said.

Wherever the road leads, however, “the personality of our company will never change,” Sophie said. “We love answering questions, working together with our customers on designs, making them feel comfortable and building relationships.”

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As for the sisters, their relationship has never been tighter.

“I love working with Casey and creating a scalable business that can support us,” Sophie said.

“I hope to continue working with Sophie,” Casey agreed. “I love what we’ve built together personally and professionally, and we enjoy the opportunity to offer people fun and unique clothing options.”

“Ultimately, we love making people feel good,” Sophie confirmed, “and providing a product that boosts everyone’s confidence a little bit.”

Brushedbysophh

Location: Monmouth County

Owners: Sophie and Casey Beres

Opened: July 2020

Website: brushedbysophh.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: TikTok helps Monmouth County sisters sell custom sneaker designs