Hillary (@knoll) is our resident designer and frontend developer. She's done an incredible job taking the experience of Patina Project to the next level, and she also happens to own a really incredible pair of Flame Panda monkey boots. Here's her thoughts on wearing them nonstop for 7 months for the Stitchdown Patina Thunderdome.

I wanted footwear that was well-made and comfortable. Tennis shoes? Okay—I love high tops, but they break down so fast. Can I have a practical pair of shoes that I can take on a bike ride, but also a night out? I know, I was asking a lot. I tried a few brands: Red Wing, Danner, Cheaney, and Carmina. Benzein did not fit, but they fit my younger sister perfectly. 💜 Ted (@tlmader) helped me size and order from Flame Panda, and they were perfect. I love the design because it's the perfect in between. Causal, dress up, pants, shorts… even dresses. I always wear them.

• Ted had started building Patina Project, and my Flame Pandas arrived just in time. I took photos of them for the app.

• I love wearing them with shorts because it's hot here. Plus, it looks great. 😎 My favorite combo.

• I've worn them to the Stitchdown Palooza, New Orleans, and Portland. It's the only pair I pack. Partially because I share a suitcase when I travel.

• I wear them every Friday to my dads house.

• I wore them to the Mogwai concert. 🎵

I made the Patina Project logo, which led into a spiral obsession with digital art and drawing boots. I was so excited to add the illustrations to the app. Eventually I started helping with the app. I did a lot of redesigns for the app and added support for web browsers. It was a huge challenge getting over 20,000 photos into our platform. A lot of manual work had to be done in order for each boot to have the correct details.

After 7 months I love my monkey boots because they make me feel comfortable.