Beneduci ShoemaKERS

In the summer of 2010 I traveled to Milan to go to one pof the worlds finest pattern making schools. The Ars Sutoria Institute. After graduating from ARS Sutoria I came back to America hell bent on starting a small design and manufacturing shoe business. The family name Beneduci in Latin means “Good Leaders” or “Good Dukes,” so my logo design came from the Good Dukes translation. The brand was born in 2011 and the ethos was Italian design principles with unique American character all made by hand in California. I personally made hundreds of pairs with my own hands and sold thousands of pairs made by the Beneduci brand from Los Angeles to San Francisco. One of my great accomplishments was making custom shoes for Metalliica in 2018, one of my favorite metal bands. But given that what really got me charged was creating shoes and discovering that everyday people on the streets were wearing a pair of Beneduci’s. Some of my past customers still call and ask if I would make them another pair of their favorite Beneduci’s. That’s pretty cool. Below is a collection of boots, shoes and sketches that encompass my 10 years as a footwear designer and entrepreneur.