It was just a matter of time that some digital genius would come up with a way to change the designs on your shoes with a “flip of a switch.” Or maybe, in this case, I should really say “a click of an app.”

Many folks in the digital media business are watching an Indiegogo campaign from a company called ShiftWear. The company promises that it can change the design on shoes with a flexible e-paper display. The first target is athletic footwear.

ShiftWear invented a wireless charging technology that allows your smartphone to change designs on your shoes.  Watch the video above for a demonstration. Engadget, a tech site,  recently wrote a story about ShiftWear.

The display is waterproof so you can wash your sneakers, even in a washing machine. Friends in the press tell me this is just the start of big changes in the footwear business. 

I can see it now. A few years from now, Christian Louboutin will be featuring a ShiftWear app that will let you change your heels from red to any other color you want. Wow.

  
  
  

Images: The New York Times

I have lived in New York City for 40 years. I’m very proud of that because I am a survivor. I did what I had to do to remain in the city because I loved New York so much. I watched other folks come and go but I managed to work, be married and raise a child in Manhattan.  

I feel very territorial about the Big Apple because I have been involved in so many areas of the city: business, politics, religion, entertainment, sports, education, food, recreation, fashion, real estate, media, tech, events, culture, healthcare and charity work. 

I have my memories. There are also parts of Manhattan that are like old friends. One very special place is the wooden escalator in Macy’s Herald Square. It has been in existence for 95 years. Macy’s just announced that the wooden escalators would remain intact even though the retailer just completed a $400 million, four-year renovation of its 34th Street location.  

I guess you can call it another Miracle on on 34th Street. The New York Times just did a story on the wooden escalators since they experienced a reprieve. They have a very personal meaning to me. I used to take the wooden escalators hundreds of times in my early career when I was assigned to write stories about Macy’s electronics department on the fifth floor. I went up and down on the escalators so many times, that I used to tap dance on them like I was Gene Kelly. 

If you have never seen them, I urge you to go. It’s like going back in time. No internet, no email, no cell phone, and no Facebook. It’s just a beautiful piece of art that keeps moving.

 

   
  

    
    
    
    
 

 
Visiting Stan Weston in his magnificent  Santa Monica condo overlooking the Pacific Ocean.   
 

I have been searching for Stan Weston, the creator of G.I. Joe, for years. He was our client at HWH PR starting around 1989. He had a licensing company called Leisure Concepts at 1414 Avenue of the Americas. In fact, he was one of the reasons we also moved into that office building and stayed 21 years.  Stan meant a lot to me. He was one of those clients who inspired us to do great work. He remained our cheerleader for a number of years before he decided to make Cap Ferrat in the South of France his new home.  

Eliot and I were lucky to visit him twice while we were on a tour. It was always fun to see Stan in his new environment.Then we lost touch. This summer we visited other friends in the Cap Ferrat area and decided to reconnect with Stan. We were stunned to learn that he was no longer there. 

When I got back home I started to hunt for him. I didn’t really get far, when Leslie Mark Alter, a long time friend, spotted a story about Stan in the New York Daily News. The article covered the fact that Stan never received the proper financial rewards and attribution for the G.I. Joe idea. Hasbro Brothers (then The Hassenfeld Company) bought the idea from Stan for  $100,000 and went on to make billions. 

Stan wants to re-examine the case. I want to help him. I am working on a  high profile campaign right now. This is going to be fun.