HOUSTON — Houston native Jennifer Ford is what you would call one bad mamma jamma.
She is becoming a huge influence in a male-dominated field by being a Black woman who owns a sneaker shop in the U.S.
The Klein High School graduate is the owner of Premium Goods in Rice Village.
"My love for sneakers probably started in junior high," she said. "Without telling you my age, but I grew up in the time Michael Jordan was playing basketball."
With time, Ford's love for sneakers only grew. So much so that 18 years ago she left her corporate job in New York City to open up Premium Goods.
"My dad was like, 'You are crazy, but if this is what you want to do come home and do this,'" Ford said.
Even though the sneaker industry continues to be very male-dominant, Premium Goods has continued to grow into a successful business. Now with an adult boutique and a kid's store, this makes her one of few Black female founders of a sneaker shop in the country, which is something she still finds hard to believe.
"I was pretty shocked myself," she said. For most of the time I have been in the industry, I have been focused on giving our clientele the best experience I can give them."
To top it all off, she was asked to design her own Air Force 1.
"I was just windblown," Ford said. "I didn’t believe it was true until I had the first sample."
To launch her shoes, she created a sleek pop-up store. Everything is designed with local talent. If you visit, you will even see Miss Universe posing on the wall. She's wearing the shoe named after he daughter Sophia.
"Her cultural heritage. She is afro-Latina. It’s a combination of the browns and the blacks," said Ford.
The second design was named after her niece Bella.
"One side is done in vibrant beading colors just to represent the beauty and vivaciousness Bella has," she said.
Ford hopes that she can continue with her success but also hopes her love for sneakers inspires others to follow their dreams
'I hope that more women, in general, have the right to open a business and do what they love," said Ford.
Jennifer’s pop-up store will remain open until the end of March in Rice Village.
Watch the full interview with Jennifer Ford in the video below: