The only thing hotter than Houston’s humidity is The Tipping Point — a downtown destination for kicks, coffee and creative culture.
There’s nothing like a timeless pair of sneakers. Whether you’re wearing them for comfort, fashion or sport, the sneaker industry has blossomed into a booming business and a hub for collectors around the globe. This week on rolling out street kicks, we sat down with David Rodriguez, co-owner of The Tipping Point, to discuss style, design and his new sneaker lifestyle store.
Let’s start with the history of your store and its design. How’d it start?
The store started off on the 1100 block of Main Street. Then we moved the Tipping Point downtown. It (the current store) was originally an art gallery. We transitioned it into a place for rare apparel, limited-edition sneakers, books and music. We’re the first downtown soft-goods store in 50 years.
We’re not the common sneaker spot by any means. It’s not just about Jordan or Adidas, you know? We may have the same product, but our presentation is different.
We take our time to maximize the SKUs and placement of every item in the store. We’re the curators of the culture that was popularized back in the day.
There’s a lot of distinct lighting in the store. What does it symbolize?
We wanted the store to be curated to grab people’s attention, building something that attracts people. The main piece in the middle of the store is symbolic of my journey.
I was an immigrant that came to the country in 1996, and I became a U.S. citizen last year. The cloud represents something that has followed my entire life up until last year. I wanted something to release that feeling.
