Amy Winans

My name is Amy Winans. I am the Chief Designer at Winans Imaginative based in Denver, Colorado. I am also the proud parent of three kids who all now know how to tie their shoes.

I came across this idea when I was teaching my boys how to tie their shoes. Not only did they have to overcome left from right, they had to figure out which part of the Tye (or shoelace) went where. With the Tyes now being different colors on the left and right, it made it so much easier to teach and learn to tie their shoes. When teaching them, I simply referred to the color which also reinforced color recognition.

They are an easy and fun tool for pre-school through Kindy if you need to teach how to tie a shoe. We have found that they are also great tool for people who might be on the Autism Spectrum (ASD).

The Tyes are also great for sports fans. They can be made with any color to support your local, college or professional team.

I love making the custom Tyes for people. It is fascinating what color combinations are asked for and how they turn out. I can honestly say I have not had a color combination order that I have not liked. My customers are SO creative, sometimes. It's also interesting to see what team colors are being requested and where they are sent to.

To make the Tyes, we use 100% white cotton flat shoelaces from Dharma as well as Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes. Every Tye is hand dyed and processed by hand. We are proud to use shoelaces that are made in the U.S.