Founded on April 7th, 2010. We grew from 2 people to 12 and in that time have decorated hundreds of thousands of pairs for corporate gifting, events, and recognition, almost entirely through promotional products distributors.
The Ave started in 2010 as a print shop on the Venice Beach boardwalk, customizing shoes and shirts for whoever walked in. Companies started asking for the same thing at scale: a hundred pairs with their logo for a sales meeting, a size run for a conference. That became the business.
Today we run a dedicated production facility in the Poconos, Pennsylvania, and nearly all of our work comes through promotional products distributors serving corporate clients. The retail shop is gone. The craft is the same, and every decoration method we use was developed in-house over those sixteen years.
We’re a close-knit family business built on friendships that go back decades. Our core team has been with the company for 14 years. Across the team, we’re family, friends, or people who knew each other before The Ave, and we love that about this place. We’ve kept the atmosphere casual and fun while growing into work for some of the biggest companies in the world. Everyone here cares about the whole job: hitting the date, getting the decoration right, keeping clients informed, and making things right when we miss something.
Our work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Tonight, KTLA, ABC’s Shark Tank, and more!
Our clients choose the footwear. Either they buy it and ship it to us, or we buy it on their behalf at full retail. We add the client’s branding, laces, or packaging as the program calls for, and deliver to the end user. Product is never resold, discounted, or marketed under the footwear brand’s name. The Ave has no affiliation with any footwear brand.
Real people, same building, most of us here for years. These are the folks who answer the phone, mock up your artwork, decorate your pairs, and pack the boxes.
Runs The Ave day to day and is the person distributors talk to from first quote to final tracking number. She’s worked thousands of footwear programs and will tell you straight whether a date is doable. Off the clock, she’s riding her quad in the mountains, making music in the studio, or home with her dog, who outranks everyone here.
Started The Ave on the Venice boardwalk in 2010 and moved it to Pennsylvania. Nick helps steer the business, supports the team, and manages the finances. Away from work, he’s usually planning his next trip, playing golf, padel, or basketball, or finding his way to a beach. He’s visited more than 90 countries and is still counting.
Tracks every open order, sets the production schedule, and answers the first email most distributors send us. When Amy’s on the road, Jaime’s in charge. She’s family-oriented, quick with a joke, and always willing to speak her mind. Off the clock, it’s her husband, kids, and her crazy little pup, Kash. When an order status needs tracking down, she’s the best.
Runs shipping and order status, talks to clients, and jumps on the decoration line when things get busy. Cody does a bit of everything. He’s a great dad, awesome on a dirt bike, and can fix just about anything on a car. He and Nick also know their way around a Vans Warped Tour mosh pit.
Our most experienced decorator. The hardest placements and the first pair on the big runs go to David. When a deadline gets tight, he’s our go-to. #Daviding became a thing here because he’s helped us pull off deadlines that once looked impossible. He’s fun to be around, loves exploring the area, and always has a fun fact or a take on the financial markets. We love David!
Fast, steady, and the second set of hands on the big runs after David. He’s also the person who fixes whatever breaks in the warehouse before it becomes a problem. His not-so-hidden talent is cooking: Dave is an amazing chef. He’s an expert fisherman in summer or snow, a 49ers fan, and an all-around great guy.
Mr. Reliable. When a 400-pair run needs every pair to look exactly like the first one, that’s Josh. Consistent, focused, and easy to be around, he handles the programs that keep the shop moving. A self-described “simple guy,” he spends plenty of time with his wife and has a passion and talent for making and appreciating music.
Part of the decoration team that turns approved mockups into finished pairs. Jordan works alongside the crew in our Pennsylvania facility, bringing the client’s artwork to life.
Danielle turns your logo into the mockup you forward to your client, works with you to make any adjustments, then into the files production works from. Every pair we make started as a Danielle file. Off the clock: online games, anime, a manga backlog with no end in sight, and enough cats that the cats have a group chat!
Orders the footwear we source, checks in everything that arrives, and makes sure every size on the list is on the shelf before production starts. Colby keeps the handoff from purchasing to production moving.
When she’s not carefully packaging each pair of shoes and making sure every order is ready to go, Amber enjoys staying active and making the most of the outdoors. You can often find her working out at the gym, exploring local farmers markets, or spending her free time outside. She brings that same energy, care, and attention to detail to her work, helping make sure every pair is packaged with care and ready for its next destination.
Handles invoices, payments, and the follow-up that keeps everything moving. Liz keeps the accounts side of each program organized so the team can keep production and delivery on track.
Mike joined The Ave in 2013, when he was 19. He started as a shop kid in Venice and worked his way up to senior decorator, with a specialty in direct-to-garment printing. We’d be hard-pressed to name anyone who printed more shoes on a DTG machine than Mike.
He was like a little brother to Nick, Amy, and David. A gamer, a skater, and a Camaro SS guy, Mike was effortlessly cool and a huge part of our growth over the 12 years he worked here. He passed away on February 28, 2026, leaving our team heartbroken.
A lot of what we do, and how we do it, has Mike in it. We miss him.
Steve Van Doren, whose family founded Vans, has been part of The Ave’s story since the Venice boardwalk days. He’s visited the shop, the warehouse, and our Pennsylvania facility, and worked alongside the team at events including Vans Warped Tour. The Ave holds a wholesale account with Vans.
We call it “The Compound,” at the foothills of the Poconos, Pennsylvania. Decoration, quality control, kitting, boxing, and shipping under one roof. Distributors and clients are welcome to visit.
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