Personalisation stations are not new but Converse is introducing designers into its New York store to help customers create unique products.

There has been a big Converse store in New York’s Soho for more than 25 years, but following renovation and expansion it has become the world’s largest outpost for lovers of branded baseball boots, with 10,000 sq ft over two floors.

There is a customisation area dubbed the Converse ‘blank canvas’ bar. Here shoppers can make their footwear their own with a series of mix and match options, including adding grommets, switching laces, adjusting colours and even using their own designs to create one-off pieces.

Later this year, an additional feature will be the Converse blank canvas workshop where shoppers will be able to work on their customised boots alongside ‘the maestro’ an on-site designer.

What this store does illustrate is just how far the boundaries can be pushed with a single product at the heart of a proposition.

It’s a practice with which others, including boot retailer Hunter and watch brand Nixon, have also been experimenting.