North Platte teen to open sneaker shop downtown
A young entrepreneur began buying and selling items online that led him to decide to open a brick-and-mortar location in downtown North Platte.
Tim Blakely, a 14-year-old eighth grader at North Platte Catholic Schools, has taken what he learned into the world of business, in particular sneakers. His shop, Shoe Shakk, will have its grand opening from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 4.
Amira Dior Traynham-Artis designed her first sneaker two years ago, and later launched her own signature sneaker line, Lane 1.
It is located at 105 E. Fifth St., Suite 103, which is in the historic Mutual Building. The entry is to the west side of the Mutual’s main entrance downstairs.
The popularity of top-notch sneakers exploded years ago with basketball players like Michael Jordan wearing their brand while playing in the National Basketball Association, said Chris Blakely, Tim’s dad.
“The store was my idea,” Tim said. “It started with an eBay store online. But then we got some cash and bought some sneakers and I told my dad about it and we decided to start a store.”
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He said one reason for the retail business is that there aren’t any such sneakers stores between Lincoln and Denver. The Shakk only stocks sneakers.
“We have some Dunks, we have Jordan Highs and Jordan Lows; we have Jordan 4s, Jordan 5s and others,” Tim said. “We have a lot of types of shoes we can get.”
In general, Chris said, Air Jordan, Yeezy and Nike Dunks are collectibles and those three brands are the hot sellers. The shop carries only collectible and authentic sneakers.
Tim has done research and learned from YouTube videos how sneakers purchases and sales work.
“I learned a lot from that. I also looked up shoes