Levitating Shoe Display Stand - Magnetic Levitation Shoe Stand with LED Light

One pair, floating in the middle of the room

A rack holds shoes. This holds one shoe, in mid-air, with a lit white arc around it and nothing underneath it.

It is not storage and it is not a solution to a clutter problem. It is the thing you put the grail pair in - the one you actually care about - so that it stops being footwear on a shelf and starts being the object people look at when they walk in. That is the entire job, and it does it well enough that most owners report it is the first thing anyone comments on.

How it actually holds a shoe up

An electromagnet lives in the top arm. A cylindrical magnet, supplied with the stand, sits down inside the shoe against the inside of the upper toward the heel. You raise the shoe up into the opening until you feel the field take hold - a little over half an inch below the arm - and let go.

So the shoe hangs from above rather than being pushed up from below. That is worth knowing, because it means the magnet goes inside the shoe, not under the sole, and it means the shoe finds its own level once the field has it.

The part other listings skip: your shoe has to be in the weight window

Magnetic levitation has a ceiling and, less obviously, a floor. Too heavy and the field will not lift it. Too light and it will not hold a stable position.

We are not going to invent a number for this. The supplier does not publish a load rating for this particular unit, and the figures across this hardware genuinely disagree with each other - different build grades of the same design are documented anywhere from about 7 oz to about 23 oz (200-650 g). We would rather tell you that than print a confident figure we cannot stand behind.

What to do about it: weigh the pair you want to float. A light running shoe or a canvas low-top sits comfortably in range. A heavy work boot, a thick-soled hiker or anything with a steel shank almost certainly does not. If your pair lands near either end of that range, message us before you order and we will confirm the rating on the unit we ship.

It turns, and the light changes color

A small fan inside the body pushes air through vents to rotate the shoe slowly in the opening, so the display shows the profile, then the sole, then the other side. Depending on how the shoe balances it may want a gentle push to get going, and you can leave it stationary if you would rather.

The white acrylic band around the inside of the C is lit, and the color cycles - the stand's own footage runs it through green, blue and pink. After dark that glow is the light in the corner of the room, which is a large part of why the thing gets noticed.

The first float takes a few minutes. Every one after that does not.

There is a knob on the side of the body that sets how much holding force the stand applies, and you set it to suit the weight of the shoe. Then you are finding the balance point by hand - the spot where the shoe sits level and stays.

Owners are consistent and cheerful about this: it is fiddly the first time, and then it is not. If you want a product that floats a shoe the instant you take it out of the box, this is the wrong product. If you are happy to spend five minutes learning it once, it holds every time after that.

Where it ends up

On a shelf, in a display cabinet, on a console table, on a desk. It wants a flat, stable surface and a socket within reach of the adapter lead, and it wants to be somewhere it will not get knocked.

One practical note that applies anywhere you put it: keep the base clear of large sheets of iron or steel. A steel shelf under it, or a metal cabinet back right behind it, will pull the field around and make the float unreliable.

What you get

The stand, a mains power adapter with its lead, and one cylindrical magnet that goes inside the shoe. No shoe, and no remote - the light and the force are set on the unit itself.

Magnets, and what to keep away from it

This is a real magnetic field, not a novelty one, and it is worth thirty seconds of thought about where it goes.

• Anyone with a pacemaker or another implanted medical device should not lean in close to it. If that applies to someone in the house, that alone is a reason to put it elsewhere or skip it.
• Keep credit and hotel key cards, mechanical watches, hearing aids and any magnetic-stripe card out of the opening and off the base.
• Keep it away from external hard drives and anything else that stores data magnetically.
• Do not stand it on an iron or steel surface, and keep large areas of iron or steel back from the base - the supplier asks for roughly eight inches of clearance.
• Indoor use only, on a flat stable surface. Not a toy, and not for young children.
• Take the shoe out of the field before you unplug it.

None of that is unusual for magnetic levitation. It is just rarely written down.

Frequently asked questions

Does it really float, or is there a clear support holding it?

It really floats. An electromagnet in the top arm holds the shoe from above and there is nothing in the gap but air - you can see straight through it to the wall behind. Nothing touches the shoe.

Is a shoe included?

No. You float your own. Every photograph on this page shows a plain unbranded sneaker standing in for whatever pair you want on display.

Will my shoe be too heavy?

Maybe, and it is worth checking before you buy. This hardware has a working weight window with a floor as well as a ceiling - too heavy and it will not lift, too light and it will not hold the position. Put the shoe you have in mind on a kitchen scale first. If it lands near either end of the range in the specification above, ask us before ordering.

Where does the magnet go?

Inside the shoe, resting against the inside of the upper toward the heel - not under the sole and not stuck to the outside. You then raise the shoe until you feel the field catch it, and let go.

How hard is it to set up the first time?

Plan on a few minutes. You set the force knob to suit the weight, put the magnet in, and then find the point where the shoe sits level and holds. Owners consistently describe the first float as fiddly and every float after that as quick. This is normal for magnetic levitation and it is not a fault.

Does it spin on its own?

A small fan inside the body blows air through vents to turn the shoe. Depending on how the shoe is balanced it may need a gentle push to get going, and it can be left stationary if you prefer.

Will it fall if someone knocks the table?

It can. The shoe is held in a magnetic field rather than clamped, so a firm knock can drop it. Stand it somewhere stable, away from the edge, and not somewhere small children can reach it.

Can I use it for something other than a shoe?

Owners float all sorts of things. The limits are the same either way: the object has to sit inside the weight window, it needs somewhere inside it to seat the magnet, and its weight needs to be reasonably centered rather than loaded to one side.