With the Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards (CAFA) coming up on April 15, we’ll be featuring some of the incredible nominees who are making their mark in Canada’s creative industry. Today we’re talking with George Sully and Henry Wong, who launched their own handcrafted sneaker brand, Sully Wong, with world domination on the horizon…
[ad_bb1]
WORK
1. Describe what you do in less than 140 characters. Go.
We make sneakers – handcrafted designs, Canadian-Asian inspired. We started in a 5×7 ft. locker and now hold inventory in a shared 70,000 sq. ft. space – we’ve come a long way!
2. What was the inspiration for your career route?
Freedom. The freedom to design and to create at will. We have a saying: No Ceiling. As long as we’re breathing, we are going to follow this mantra to the end.
3. What is the most memorable milestone in your career so far?
There have been so many unique and memorable milestones in the course of building our brand. It is difficult to choose just one as they’re all equally important. If I am to pick one highlight in recent memory, then it would be sitting with Will Smith to discuss options for something that might or might not be in the works…
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?
On cruise control by year five, and even more expansion of the business – but with a flying car – by years 10 and 20.
5. Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Know that there’s no ceiling. Henry and I weren’t formally schooled in this art, but we were driven here by instinct. Go with your gut feeling; take chances. If you fall, then try, try again.
6. Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is it (or they) important to you?
We support the Michael Pinball Clemons Foundation. They are a charity that helps the community in many ways. I was lucky enough to participate in their program to build schools in Haiti. The most important thing to me about the MPCF is that they’ve always followed through on their word.
7. What is one major challenge that you’ve had to overcome in your career? How did you overcome it?
No one major challenge has been paramount. We’re entrepreneurs, and as such challenges are a daily ritual. The key to success is how you deal with challenges because they’re always going to be there. A fine student and scholar of everything important in the universe once said, “More money, more problems.”
8. What does the word notable mean to you?
Worthy of mention.
PLAY
1. Where is your favourite place to wine/dine in your city and why?
ROUX (Toronto) is the perfect mix of fun and calm. It’s a great place to have drinks with friends or a quiet dinner away from the downtown core with your lady.
2. What’s the most visited website on your Internet browser? The most played song on your phone?
Google – the portal to the rest of the universe – is the most visited website.
My phone is bursting with sneaker photos more than music.
3. Who’s one person you think everyone should be following on social media?
Irving Dee, @thebrightesthour. He’s a talented creative director/photographer who helped jumpstart our online presence. I highly recommend everyone follow him as he is leading the way to the next level of creativity.
4. What’s your favourite country to visit and why? And what’s the next one you plan on travelling to?
Hong Kong, China – the hustle is strong there, and we’re all about the hustle… morning, noon, and night! We’re heading back to China at the end of the month, but this time to Shanghai to visit the new factories we’ve been playing in from abroad.
5. What gives you the greatest FOMO?
Need to think about that one….
6. What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
Food – dessert, truly. Though I’ve been able to remove guilt from the equation now that I count everything that goes into my body.
7. What’s something you wish you didn’t spend so much money on? What’s something you wish you spent more on?
Both Henry and I splurge heavy on tech – Macbooks, camera equipment, and accessories. I wish there was more in the budget for art.
8. And finally, what does success look like to you? Work, play, or otherwise…
Success for our Sully Wong brand is the ability to travel the world and connect the dots. Though there’s plenty of dots left to connect, we’ve built a strong enough foundation that allows us to finish what we started – that’s success.
[ad_bb2]