This is a story about a girl who lives on the highest floor of a building that used to be a spaghetti factory. This girl gently closes her eyes when the shadows are changing into lights on her face as a J train greets Brooklyn on the Williamsburg Bridge. This girl loves how the costumes she has created sparkle during the grand finale of a Broadway musical show. She rolls down the window of a huge car she’s driving to exhale smoke, and she turns on the radio. While walking in Bushwick, you have to smile when you notice glittery curbs, and dirt mixed with pink sparkles. You’re probably on the street where she has her studio.
This is a story about Tescia Seufferlein and her sparkly shoes.
Shoe tossing might be the most popular sport in Brooklyn. Shoe tossing, or shoefiti, is a practice where sneakers whose shoelaces have been tied together are thrown on overhead wires and cables so that they hang. A little bit of Internet research shows that this used to mark gang territories or places where one could buy drugs. But the newly arrived artistic community adopted this habit, perhaps not realizing the other meanings, and hanging sneakers have not disappeared from Brooklyn’s telephone cables. To the contrary, shoefiti has become a common Brooklyn sight.
One sunny November morning last year, the first rays of sun covered Bogart Street in millions of colorful lights reflected by dozens of sparkly high-heeled shoes hanging proudly next to dirty old sneakers. I remember riding my bike underneath them and yelling with joy! To me, it felt like a beautiful Brooklyn chick had stood up to a bunch of stoners who hadn’t showered for three days and said to them: “Stop! Bushwick is going to be classy from now on.”
Bushwick girls started to discuss whether the sparkly shoes were their size, and if it would be too dangerous to climb up and get a pair. Bushwick guys started to Google “sparkly shoes” like crazy, trying to find out who dared to hang them. All of Bushwick was talking about them, taking photos and uploading them on Twitter and Facebook and blogs.
Many of the shoes were knocked down by the trucks driving to and from the factories in the industrial part of Bushwick, but Tescia says she doesn’t mind. Purple editions of the sparkly shoes appeared on the wires in front of the Bushwick galleries just before Beat Nite. And a here comes a sneak peak: soon we might get a spring edition of sparkly shoes!
This photo by courtessy of Tescia Seufferlein
And how does one do it? Simply. Watch the video that Bushwick Daily borrowed from Tescia.
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About Katarina Hybenova
Founder of Bushwick Daily. She writes, takes photos, and sometimes video. Born and raised in Slovakia, she has studied in Prague, Leuven and New York, traveled the world only to find home in Bushwick or should we say Ridgewood :) She is interested in yoga, running, human & cat friends.
That’s my girl…. awesome Tess!!
[...] I consider finding the author of Sparkly Shoes hanging on wires in Bushwick, to be one of my greatest achievements in life It’s an artist and a costume designer at Broadway Tescia Seuferlein. She’s simply an awesome person, it was a true pleasure meeting her. You should definitely check out my article about her on Bushwick Daily. [...]
Amazing, I love it! Thanks for the tip!
Tessie you ROCK!!!
Love it Tess. Happy to see things are great for you in NY.
Where can I get some sparkly blues for my wedding dress?
All the best. AK
Is that Britney’s “Intoxicate Me” playing in the background?
hahahaha yes
))
[...] Somers and Tescia Seufferlein Allison Somers Tescia [...]
Tescia already beat that shoe lady from the Philippines! LOL! She rocks!
@Jane Bang
I love that song haha.
They used to do this in my old neighborhood. I never new why lol
Regards
Lauren
.-= Lauren´s last blog ..Healthy Trim: All You Need To Know Is Here =-.
Hey girl..that’s pretty cool..lol
.-= Physician Assistant Programs´s last blog ..What is a Physician Assistant =-.
I think your shoes are very nice. But having grown up in Bushwich and being a “true Bushwick girl” I must inform you that what you refer to as shoe tossing is a simplistic misunderstood characteristic of a practice that is tied to a culture in the neighborhood. I won’t explain it to you because I suspect you don’t care (you decided to define it in way that fit your business marketing). And, I know you are not part of the culture, because you would not characterize it in the unfortunate way you have.
I understand the Bushwick has become a playground for newcomers and an interesting place to market for new businesses, but you shoud be cognizant and maybe care that some of the things you find “cute,” or “interesting” or culture, community, belonging to others who have been there long before you.
Lisa – we would like to know more about the traditions of Bushwick! Please come back and share with us and everyone else who reads this page. Spread the culture…..