Putting his best foot forward

Timothy Liles is a young Boston designer -- he's only 23 -- who just a year after graduating from Rhode Island School of Design has hit the jackpot, not once but twice. As a footwear designer for Converse in North Andover, his first sneaker, the Chuck Taylor All Star Notebook, was an instant sensation, generating rave reviews on sneaker blogs and in teen fashion magazines. And recently, his senior thesis for RISD caught the eye of Martha Stewart. His ``Well Design" furniture series is a satirical response to America's obsession with staying healthy; one of the pieces is a ``sanitary chair" that holds a roll of sanitary paper, like you'd find on a doctor's examining table. It was one of several works by RISD students shown recently at an exhibition of experimental furniture hosted by Martha in her New York offices, in conjunction with the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. It also appeared on her ``Martha" TV show -- ``for one hot second," Liles says. Globe writer Linda Matchan spoke to Liles about sneakers, health, and design.

How did your Notebook sneaker come about?

I did it my first week as an intern (at Converse). It wasn't clear what they wanted to do with me, but they asked me to draw some shoes. I did some doodles, and then I doodled on the shoes, and then it turned out to be a pretty big seller. The idea was to make it look like the kind of doodles kids do in math class. It looks like the inside of a notebook, with bunnies and robots and clouds and a few speech bubbles that say ``I heart Chuck Taylor."

Who did you envision was doing the doodling?

Maybe a 14- or 15-year - old girl. But the shoe has much broader appeal. I've seen some guys in New York wearing them, and that's been really fun. My girlfriend and I have been on the T a few times and we've seen people wearing them. I've seen couples where they're both wearing them.

Do you say anything to them?

I don't say anything. I don't want to weird anyone out.

Do you wear them yourself?

I don't. I feel like that's bragging or something, and I'm pretty modest.

Is this as good as it gets for a young designer?

Yeah, I think so. People in school are happy for me, but I think some are jealous.

What was the idea behind your Well Design furniture?

It was a series I did for my senior - year thesis at RISD (in 2005). It started as a way to get people to consider why there is so much . . . obsession over being healthy. It's evident in things like Purel and the way people are always sanitizing themselves and overmedicating themselves. The sanitary chair was meant to make you wonder about whether or not it's really necessary to protect yourself from somebody else's body as much as that. It's social commentary about consumerism, as well as about health issues.

Do you think Americans are over the top when it comes to health and

wellness?

I would say so, in general. We're the healthiest we've ever been, but it's the most worrying we've ever done.

Are a lot of young designers interested in using their work as social commentary?

It is definitely on the minds of a lot of young students and designers. At some point, people got tired of producing beautiful things and felt they could cross the line into something that used to be delegated to fine artists. It's not enough just to have a beautiful chair; they want to say something, too.

Do you see sneakers in your future?

I'm enjoying making sneakers right now and see sneakers for a little while, but I want to make furniture very soon.

Will you be mass-producing sanitary chairs?

Before the topic itself becomes trite, I'll think of something else.