Former 'Ink Master' contestant’s shoes shine with the stars

CORTLAND — Once a month or so, someone will wander into Bull Airs at 22 Groton Ave. in Cortland, look around at $300 sneakers and wander out without buying. Owner Thomas Bulman doesn’t mind: He’s in the back hand-making custom shoes for customers, many of them celebrities, from around the world.

Bulman, a former contestant of Paramount’s “Ink Master,” arrived in Cortland in 2016 after an offer to tattoo with “Ink Master” winner Josh Payne at the now-closed Ascend Gallery, which was located at 15 Central Ave. in Cortland.

The two opened Alchemist Art Studio in July 2018 on 33 Main St., and tattooed there until the pandemic put the tattoo industry on hiatus. Bulman pivoted artistic pursuits after a friend, a custom shoe-maker, persuaded him to take his class on the subject.

Bulman made a pair of sneakers based on Marvel’s Wolverine, and was bombarded with commissions. After six months of sneaker-customizing, he was out of time to tattoo, and opened Bull Airs.

“It just made sense to open it here,” Bulman said. “I love Cortland, we have a house here, and our kids go to school here.”

Two years later, he has more than $1 million in revenue, collaborates with major entertainment companies, and gets orders from famous writers, actors and musicians.

Pretty much no one comes into his showroom, which also used to function as a store, he said. The space functions as an office, workspace, space for private showings and home for his lizard, Ripley (named from the film series “Aliens,” of course.)

“It’s so funny because no one knows I’m here, or that I’m doing what I’m doing,” Bulman said. “It’s so low-key.”

Bulman does artistic customizations of Nike sneakers, as well as original sneakers, based on pop culture and media icons. He’s sold 100 pairs of his Malibu Pink sneakers, inspired by Barbie, since the pre-order began last week.

He created a custom pair of “Scream” sneakers for the franchise’s star David Arquette.

“I love Bull Airs because they love art and I love art, and they love shoes and I love shoes, and when you master something you love, that’s where you find magic,” Arquette said.

Bulman recently created shoes for Seth Rogan and the four young actors voicing the turtles in the soon-to-be-released “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” movie.

Steve Lavigne, the basis of “Michelangelo” and original illustrator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle comics, saw a fan with a pair of TMNT Bull Airs shoes, and immediately reached out for a pair.

Lavigne now owns three pairs of turtle-branded sneakers. Bulman made Lavigne’s wife a pair of “Queen” sneakers during her “Bohemian Rhapsody” phase. He added a bit of extra sparkle to them, per her request.

“He’s starting a sickness in our house,” Lavigne said. “Tom himself is unique. He is very down-to-earth for being as gifted as he is. What he brings to the shoes is insane; they are insanely detailed, beautiful, full of love shoes.”

Bulman has created a few pairs based on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which have collectively sold more than 2,500 pairs.

“I’m looking at mine and, weirdly, they’re in a display case in my studio, which is not normal for my footwear,” Lavigne said. “That says volumes for what he does. I look at them like art. When someone pays for one pair, they are literally getting a painting.”

Bulman has created shoes for Pee-wee Herman, Logan Riley Bruner of “Stranger Things,” Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 — even the blue Power Ranger.

“I’ve only been doing this two years, and we’ve already made well over a million dollars in revenue; I never would have made that in tattooing,” he said. “It’s crazy we’re here in Cortland, and we’re getting so big, and it’s only going to get bigger.”

He is creating a pair of Napoleon Dynamite shoes for the film’s star Jon Heder. The pair has a small pocket for resin tater tots, Bulman said. Another current project is collaborating on clothing with Billy Zane, based on Zane’s filmography.

His mass-produced shoes retail from $350 to $500. Commissioned pairs range from $1,500 to $2,500.

Some of his favorites are based on “The Mandalorian,” “Killer Klowns from Outer Space,” “Space Balls,” and the Boba Fett shoes he created for one of the character’s actors, Daniel Logan.

“Every time I make a shoe, I’m like ‘This is the one, I love this one,’ and then I make another and I say ‘This is the one!’” Bulman said.

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