Building your dream shoe is possible in Peru

Eyna is pioneering the personalized shoe market in Lima.

There’s a special excitement when eyna, the personalized shoe brand based in Lima, Perú, pops up on my Instagram feed with a new pair of designs.

Honestly, each one is more beautiful than the last.

After my post titled Shoes, shoes, shoes: Latin edition! over the summer, I knew I had to dig a little deeper into the story behind this slow fashion but fast-growing Peruvian brand that’s is making waves online. By that, I mean every time they share a stunning picture of a shoe on their profile, there are sometimes up to 71 comments below.

I conducted this interview a few months ago, but I wasn’t able to publish it sooner. However, I have to say that digitally meeting Deyna Hamideh— the 30-year-old photographer, and the founder and designer of eyna—was one of the most delightful encounters I’ve had this year.

Mainly because it reminded me that great things happen when you follow your intuition. But it also struck me, after talking to so many female designers over the past year, that many of th…