Somebody recently asked me, for whatever reason, if I’d been living under a rock. After my trip to Henry (the shoe and clothing gallery at 212 W. Broad), I’ve discovered that the answer is yes, definitely. I met up with a couple of guys who collect sneakers—one being Rudy Lopez, the co-owner of the shop, the other a hoodie-and-Vans-clad kid named Danny Khounmouangsene, or D.K.—and they schooled me in this unfamiliar art. Here I was, thinking it was a big deal when my roommate dropped $300 and came home with a Santa-sized sack of boxes from DSW; these guys see single pairs of shoes go for that all the time (and we’re talking Nike, people, not Prada). They explained how really serious collectors will buy multiple pairs when something’s really hot: one to wear, one for backup in case the first ones get scuffed, and one to remain boxed and untouched in “deep ice” storage to be resold later, when it’s worth 4 or 5 times what it cost them. Sometimes more. “There’s the collector, the flipper, and the consumer,” Rudy said. “The collector buys shoes because a) they like them, b) they understand their market and cultural value, and c) they recognize and appreciate the design of the shoe, almost as a piece of art. The flipper buys strictly to resell and make money. The consumer buys to wear.”
 
I mean, I’m not totally oblivious. I remember being in high school and almost getting my butt handed to me for catching the edge of a basketball player’s pristine white Adidas with my gnarly boots. But the perspective’s developed since then, shoes have taken on a new identity, one of not only status and culture but straight-up cash, appreciating at a jaw-dropping rate. D.K. explained how his collection used to be his savings account. “If I needed money, I’d throw a pair up online and end up with cash in my Paypal account that night. In 2005, a friend and I waited in line for 17 hours, no sleep, for the Tiffany Dunks… the store had 25 pairs, I was number two in line. My boy was number one. People brought us Domino’s. You were only allowed to buy one pair, and they retailed at $65, but the store charged us $150. I wore those for two years and still sold them, worn, for $275.” Rudy laughed, “It’s modern currency.” For real. Nike’s Paris Dunks, from 2003, go for $3,000-$5,000. That’s, like, way more than the price of a mint boxed Boba Fett action figure.

So what are these guys’ favorites this year? Rudy: Keep’s line, for women by women. You can find those at Henry, very cool. D.K.: the re-released Nike Air Max from ’95, in neon green or chili red. “My favorite pair of all time, the one that started it all for me, were the Jordan 11s, white with black patent leather,” D.K. remembered, and Rudy added, “Yeah! Those were the big thing, because Japan had finally created a type of patent leather that would translate well, be flexible enough for sneakers.” Rudy’s full of trivia like that. Suddenly feeling the urge to add to your collection? Go see him at Henry.

WEB | http://www.myspace.com/thehenrygallery      

Look - if your going to get all ass-hurt about someone else opening a store and doing well for themselves, then by all means PLEASE do so.

However, assuming that anyone that does so is a “rich kid” and their parents pay the bills is pretty poor. Not to mention just outright incorrect.

In the time it took for you put on your “World Wide Web’s Favorite Critic” shirt and
type out that bullshit you could have enlightened all of us with your infinite knowledge of all things cooler in Richmond.

Sayin’ though…

Hey Josh,
Help us out by pointing us towards some of these other young hip local entrepreneurs in Richmond that you think deserve coverage. We can’t be everywhere at once, and we can’t know about everything that’s happening, so if you know of someone or someplace doing something cool, we’d love to hear about it. Thanks!

Drop me a line at

how many more articles are you guys going to write on henry? There are a ton of other local, young entrepreneurs in RVA that have far more interesting stories than the same old..“Rich kids open boutique, parents continue to pay all the bills”.

Seriously, please branch out on your articles. There is so much happening in Richmond to be covering the same thing over and over. Has brick run out of ideas for content?