Ms. Jordan Shue


Raaja Nemani

An Interview with BucketFeet, A Shoe Company That Believes Art is for Everyone

Posted by Ms. Jordan Shue, Raaja Nemani, Mar 05, 2015 0 comments


Ms. Jordan Shue


Raaja Nemani

Recently in our travels through the internet, my colleagues and I stumbled upon a young, Chicago-based company that supports artists by collaborating with them to design and sell canvas shoes (reminding us of VANS Custom Culture Contest, going on in schools across the country right now!). We were thrilled to see how explicit the company is in its support of the arts, and were even more excited when Co-Founder and CEO, Raaja Nemani, responded to my email immediately, graciously agreeing to answer some of my questions about such an amazing company.

Jordan Shue: Tell us about BucketFeet, and how the company started.

Raaja Nemani: Our mission is to connect people through art. I quit my job to backpack around the world in 2008, and met my eventual co-founder while volunteering in Argentina. He was an artist, and before I left South America, he designed a custom pair of shoes for me. Everywhere I went those shoes inspired incredible conversations with equally incredible people from all walks of life. Two years after we met, I reached out to him with an idea to use art and shoes to bring people together in a unique way!

JS: Tell us more about your mission and philosophy, and why you made the decision to make the arts such an integral part of your business model.

RN: We believe everyone in the world wants to be connected to someone or something. If given the chance, people would love to learn more about all of the amazing people and things that exist all over the world. To us, art is one of those universal languages that can bridge gaps and bring people together. It has the power to connect.

JS: How has the company’s support of the arts advanced your business objectives?

RN: By supporting the arts, we have created a large group of ambassadors around the world who help promote our mission and our brand.

JS: How are the arts a part of the company’s operating culture?

RN: We have an Artist Team! They’re a team within our company dedicated to our artists and are constantly ensuring that artist interests are always kept in mind with everything we do.

JS: Through what various methods do you support the arts (i.e. any other corporate social responsibility goals, matching employee gifts to the arts, arts-based training, employee engagement or volunteer options in the arts?)

RN: Our main methods are exposure and financial rewards. We have a global distribution network which allows our artists’ work to be seen and sold all over the world, in places and in ways that might not otherwise be possible. For example, we have a Colombian artist whose work has been sold in over twenty countries. Also, we build content around our artists to tell their stories and share their experiences with the world. We also pay the artists for their work and give them royalties for every product sold. This hopefully helps our artists continue to do what they love.

JS: Has the company’s arts support helped with employee recruitment or retention? Does the company employ the arts as a reward to employees?

RN: The people that join BucketFeet usually have an appreciation for the arts and an affinity for creative pursuits. I think it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy and helps us recruit and retain those people who truly believe in our mission.

JS: Though you work with artists all over the world, have you established any particular initiatives/programs with artists/the broader arts community in your home base of Chicago?

RN: We host events with our artists in Chicago all the time, and have even had our local artists help design our own office and studio locations.

JS: Can you talk about the impact your work has had on the global community of artists with whom you’ve worked?

RN: I think the biggest thing is giving our artists opportunities and a platform that would otherwise not exist for them. We work with incredibly talented people, but these are mostly emerging or unknown names. Our global network has allowed these artists, their work, and their stories to literally travel around the world.

JS: As a young company, what are your goals for the future and how do you plan to use the arts to further them?

RN: We want to grow into a major global brand. By continuing to stay true to our values and our mission, we hope to work with thousands of more artists on new products and in innovative ways.

 

Raaja Nemani is Co-Founder and CEO of BucketFeet, a Chicago-based e-commerce and retail company that collaborates with artists from around the world. Raaja’s international travels, which include a trek through the Himalayas and a dive with great white sharks, inspired him to launch BucketFeet as a platform to connect people through art. Now selling in more than 25 countries, with a network exceeding 12,000 artists, BucketFeet believes art is for everyone. Raaja graduated from Northwestern University in 2004.

This is part of a bi-monthly series from the pARTnership movement, a campaign started by Americans for the Arts to bring arts organizations and businesses together so that everyone can profit.

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