Come on out and dance, If you get the chance
March 30, 2016 1:44 PM Subscribe
Nine years ago, when she was 27 and unhappily selling real estate, Gina Locklear went to her parents with a proposition.
Now 36, she's leading the latest million selling trend. Meet the Sock Queen of Alabama.
Now 36, she's leading the latest million selling trend. Meet the Sock Queen of Alabama.
Are they priced per-foot?
posted by Thorzdad at 2:20 PM on March 30, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 2:20 PM on March 30, 2016 [13 favorites]
“It’s a sensible business,” Ms. Stewart said. “Everyone needs socks.
And yet no-one needs $30 socks. Surely?
I have no beef with these hosiers. More power to them keeping the family business alive. But it's so odd to think that where late stage capitalism has brought us is to the idea that we can replace dead or dying industries which catered to the needs of billions with niche products that few will ever be able to afford. I found the reference to "millennials" buying these products particularly surprising, given the massive economic turmoil and distress being experienced by so many people under 30.
Nice socks made by nice people are great. But the article made me feel a bit weird.
posted by howfar at 2:22 PM on March 30, 2016 [9 favorites]
And yet no-one needs $30 socks. Surely?
I have no beef with these hosiers. More power to them keeping the family business alive. But it's so odd to think that where late stage capitalism has brought us is to the idea that we can replace dead or dying industries which catered to the needs of billions with niche products that few will ever be able to afford. I found the reference to "millennials" buying these products particularly surprising, given the massive economic turmoil and distress being experienced by so many people under 30.
Nice socks made by nice people are great. But the article made me feel a bit weird.
posted by howfar at 2:22 PM on March 30, 2016 [9 favorites]
They're pretty cute socks, and while they're more money than I would usually spend on socks, they're not outrageously expensive. Any three pairs for $39!
Anyway, I approve of the small-batch artisanal socks.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:23 PM on March 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
Anyway, I approve of the small-batch artisanal socks.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:23 PM on March 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
Ms. Locklear, now 36, grew up in the business. Her parents, Terry and Regina Locklear, started a mill in Fort Payne, Ala., in 1991. They made white sport socks for Russell Athletic, millions of them, destined for big-box stores and your own feet if you took gym class. [sic]
The Locklears held on to their mill, but barely...“We’d just come here and sit,” Terry said. “We would talk, and it was, like, ‘I just don’t know what we’re going to do.’ We still had our knowledge.”
Her parents were skeptical. They knew how hard it was to compete and how much money it would take to start a brand. They didn’t get the whole organic thing. Most of all, they didn’t want their oldest daughter to do something she’d soon regret or tire of.
“But it’s been everything except any of that,” her father said.
Her mother added: “She absolutely loves what she does. She’s on fire.”
Indeed, the humble sock is having a moment.
But she is determined to keep going, to make Fort Payne a place where socks are once again made by the millions.
“It’s hard every day but I still love it,” she said. “It’s what I want to do forever.”
Oh, inexplicably breezy, maybe-copy-edited-maybe-not NYT Style Section articles. Never change.
posted by clockzero at 2:26 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
The Locklears held on to their mill, but barely...“We’d just come here and sit,” Terry said. “We would talk, and it was, like, ‘I just don’t know what we’re going to do.’ We still had our knowledge.”
Her parents were skeptical. They knew how hard it was to compete and how much money it would take to start a brand. They didn’t get the whole organic thing. Most of all, they didn’t want their oldest daughter to do something she’d soon regret or tire of.
“But it’s been everything except any of that,” her father said.
Her mother added: “She absolutely loves what she does. She’s on fire.”
Indeed, the humble sock is having a moment.
But she is determined to keep going, to make Fort Payne a place where socks are once again made by the millions.
“It’s hard every day but I still love it,” she said. “It’s what I want to do forever.”
Oh, inexplicably breezy, maybe-copy-edited-maybe-not NYT Style Section articles. Never change.
posted by clockzero at 2:26 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
With a bit of spin, this story could be a Trump speech about China Taking Our Socks.
posted by benzenedream at 2:29 PM on March 30, 2016
posted by benzenedream at 2:29 PM on March 30, 2016
This is one of many businesses that make perfect sense as a venture, and I applaud her success. Yet I could never envision myself having any passion for it whatsoever. It's like waking up one morning and going, "I'm going to make the best rubber bands the world has ever seen...every size and color...people from everywhere will want my rubber bands!" Pretty cool when someone finds their own specific niche.
posted by ktoad at 2:30 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ktoad at 2:30 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yay for people getting to do what they love and also creating jobs and quality products!
Nice socks.
posted by bondcliff at 2:31 PM on March 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
Nice socks.
posted by bondcliff at 2:31 PM on March 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
But it's so odd to think that where late stage capitalism has brought us is to the idea that we can replace dead or dying industries which catered to the needs of billions with niche products that few will ever be able to afford.Ok, that's really interesting, because that isn't exactly how it seemed to me. I think I'm pretty not-rich, and $13 socks are something that I could splurge on. I feel like this is something else: artisanal stuff for those of us who are never going to be able to afford the full-sized items but want to be able to participate in the trend. It's like Alabama Chanin for people with student loans.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:32 PM on March 30, 2016 [13 favorites]
maybe-copy-edited-maybe-not
You don't correct the grammar in quotes.
posted by neroli at 2:32 PM on March 30, 2016
You don't correct the grammar in quotes.
posted by neroli at 2:32 PM on March 30, 2016
or in quotations.
posted by boo_radley at 2:40 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by boo_radley at 2:40 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
More like you don't correct the "grammar" in quotes, amirite?
Also what a bootstraps success story! Armed with nothing but her family's gigantic manufacturing facility, & multi-generational institutional knowledge, she built an entire sock empire all by herself!
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:50 PM on March 30, 2016 [54 favorites]
Also what a bootstraps success story! Armed with nothing but her family's gigantic manufacturing facility, & multi-generational institutional knowledge, she built an entire sock empire all by herself!
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:50 PM on March 30, 2016 [54 favorites]
Oh for fuck's sake.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:52 PM on March 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:52 PM on March 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
Sorry, I'm really grumpy today. Also, I guess I hate socks or something.
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:54 PM on March 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:54 PM on March 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
it's probably corns. or bunions.
posted by boo_radley at 2:57 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by boo_radley at 2:57 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
$13 socks are something that I could splurge on
Yes, I can see that it's reasonable to choose to spend one's money that way, even on relatively limited funds. But the economic and social implications of that sort of niche product being the only replacement we have for an industry that employed many thousands and clothed many millions seems odd to me. Maybe the artisanal trend, in general, sort of feels like busywork to me, a way to shuffle money around among the wealthier members of the wealthy world, while the dirty work of our economies is done overseas.
It's not that I'm hankering for a lost industrial past, given the frequently harsh realities of life it created, or imagining that one could turn back the clock even if one wanted to. It just feels like a funny place we're at, is all.
I do reckon I'm probably pretty tight about spending money on socks, though. I always wait until I'm near a branch of Mole Valley Farmers. They always have good deals on socks. Because farmers are as mean as I am when it comes to foot-claddings, I suppose.
posted by howfar at 2:58 PM on March 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
Yes, I can see that it's reasonable to choose to spend one's money that way, even on relatively limited funds. But the economic and social implications of that sort of niche product being the only replacement we have for an industry that employed many thousands and clothed many millions seems odd to me. Maybe the artisanal trend, in general, sort of feels like busywork to me, a way to shuffle money around among the wealthier members of the wealthy world, while the dirty work of our economies is done overseas.
It's not that I'm hankering for a lost industrial past, given the frequently harsh realities of life it created, or imagining that one could turn back the clock even if one wanted to. It just feels like a funny place we're at, is all.
I do reckon I'm probably pretty tight about spending money on socks, though. I always wait until I'm near a branch of Mole Valley Farmers. They always have good deals on socks. Because farmers are as mean as I am when it comes to foot-claddings, I suppose.
posted by howfar at 2:58 PM on March 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
it's probably corns. or bunions.
Actually, it's an ingrown toenail, I shit you not. And a sore Achilles tendon, & clients & stinkfoot.
/grumpypants out.
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:00 PM on March 30, 2016
Actually, it's an ingrown toenail, I shit you not. And a sore Achilles tendon, & clients & stinkfoot.
/grumpypants out.
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:00 PM on March 30, 2016
ugh, clients. The worst.
posted by boo_radley at 3:03 PM on March 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by boo_radley at 3:03 PM on March 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
Socks, man. My wife has been designing novelty socks for the last 9 years. We literally have more awesome socks at home than we have room for. She's love to start her own line, but unlike the protagonist of this riches-to-less-riches-and-back-to-riches story she doesn't have, you know, an entire sock manufacturing infrastructure at her disposal. As it is she has to fight tooth and nail to make any career advancement at all. Pretty much every interesting sock company is small and owned by the person who started it which makes stretching out creatively and growing job-wise very, very difficult.
posted by grumpybear69 at 3:10 PM on March 30, 2016 [14 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 3:10 PM on March 30, 2016 [14 favorites]
howfar, I look at it as another in a long line of small-end manufacturing businesses that were almost run out of the States and are now making a small comeback. For better or worse, I prefer to buy things made in the country where I live. (Where possible, I try to buy things made in the city where I live, then metro area, state, country, and so on.) Part of the reason why we can pay $9 for 22 socks is due to fobbing the manufacturing off on cut-rate factories. What little I can do to forestall that, I will.
(It is one reason why I was sad to see Motorola's phone manufacturing plant in Fort Worth go away. I like having a mobile device that says "Made in USA" on the back and now it is irreplaceable.)
posted by fireoyster at 3:11 PM on March 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
(It is one reason why I was sad to see Motorola's phone manufacturing plant in Fort Worth go away. I like having a mobile device that says "Made in USA" on the back and now it is irreplaceable.)
posted by fireoyster at 3:11 PM on March 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
I love fun socks and in particular I love colorful striped socks, so yeah, now that I know about her, I'll probably buy some socks from Gina Locklear.
posted by Squeak Attack at 3:15 PM on March 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Squeak Attack at 3:15 PM on March 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
I was a sock agnostic until I was gifted some good socks. So much more comfortable and OMG they wore like iron. Some sort of Tommy Hilfiger which I've never found again, and I'm sure they weren't even truly great socks, just hella better than the cheap socks I'd usually buy.
Anyway, $10–15 a pair sound like a fine price if they are comfy and durable.
posted by five fresh fish at 3:16 PM on March 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Anyway, $10–15 a pair sound like a fine price if they are comfy and durable.
posted by five fresh fish at 3:16 PM on March 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Part of the reason why we can pay $9 for 22 socks is due to fobbing the manufacturing off on slavery.
I'm okay with spending a bit more to not support slavery. I wish everyone was.
posted by five fresh fish at 3:17 PM on March 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
I'm okay with spending a bit more to not support slavery. I wish everyone was.
posted by five fresh fish at 3:17 PM on March 30, 2016 [7 favorites]
I'm okay with spending a bit more to not support slavery. I wish everyone was.
I wish people could actually afford more expensive, local goods, instead of counting every penny and having to resort to whatever is cheaper because they can't go to work on ragged clothes.
Unfortunately, that's not the world we live in.
posted by lmfsilva at 3:35 PM on March 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
I wish people could actually afford more expensive, local goods, instead of counting every penny and having to resort to whatever is cheaper because they can't go to work on ragged clothes.
Unfortunately, that's not the world we live in.
posted by lmfsilva at 3:35 PM on March 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
I love me some fun socks. I am glad she has found something oddball to do with her life that makes her happy and employs Americans in a rapidly dwindling manufacturing sector. I can't always afford $13 socks either but I am happy when I have enough to do stuff like that (and I make about that much an hour in a less than 30 hr/a wk job).
posted by Kitteh at 3:46 PM on March 30, 2016
posted by Kitteh at 3:46 PM on March 30, 2016
I am sure my cheapness about clothing is a hangover from the years when I was very poor. The idea of spending considerably more than what was an hour's wages on a pair of socks, when my hours might get cut the next week anyway, that wasn't feasible*. I think maybe this is where my curiosity lies. How do we make it tenable for people to produce good quality, ethically viable products, without having to make them into luxury goods available to a relatively limited group? It's just a restatement of a question of social justice so obvious as to be almost banal, but it's no less perplexing for all that. Roll on fully automated luxury communism, I say.
*not being all "woe is me", my poverty was largely a result of my own life choices, some good and some fucking terrible.
posted by howfar at 3:54 PM on March 30, 2016
*not being all "woe is me", my poverty was largely a result of my own life choices, some good and some fucking terrible.
posted by howfar at 3:54 PM on March 30, 2016
That's the whole point of globalization - build a business plan, cost out the marketing, inventory and manufacturing. If you can self-fund then great, otherwise stop by the bank or seek out your local manufacturing-friendly angel investors.
I'm pretty sure that this isn't the whole point of globalisation and its ongoing concentration of wealthy and power into the unaccountable hands of corporations and the super-rich, charmingly optimistic though your view is.
posted by howfar at 3:57 PM on March 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
I'm pretty sure that this isn't the whole point of globalisation and its ongoing concentration of wealthy and power into the unaccountable hands of corporations and the super-rich, charmingly optimistic though your view is.
posted by howfar at 3:57 PM on March 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
Pretty much every interesting sock company is small and owned by the person who started it which makes stretching out creatively and growing job-wise very, very difficult.
As with small business world in general.
For the ambitious, a commercial sock machine runs about $1,200. With an entry cost like that, you can see why the trade went overseas.
posted by IndigoJones at 4:01 PM on March 30, 2016
As with small business world in general.
For the ambitious, a commercial sock machine runs about $1,200. With an entry cost like that, you can see why the trade went overseas.
posted by IndigoJones at 4:01 PM on March 30, 2016
I've mentioned before that I've noticed a pattern where people on Metafilter discredit women, especially young, creative women, by dismissing them as privileged, in a way that I don't really notice them doing for similarly-situated young men. It is really not that rare for people to take over family businesses. Where I live, it's actually quite common. It's also common for young people to try to keep their small family businesses relevant by playing on the preference for things that are local, small-batch, artisanal, etc. I very rarely hear people saying snarky things when it's a guy.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:05 PM on March 30, 2016 [48 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:05 PM on March 30, 2016 [48 favorites]
I think maybe this is where my curiosity lies. How do we make it tenable for people to produce good quality, ethically viable products, without having to make them into luxury goods available to a relatively limited group?I'm not entirely sure why this particular small business owner should be tasked with solving capitalism.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:10 PM on March 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
I don't see where I suggested she should. I have expressed nothing but good wishes for her and her business, and will continue to do so. So...um. Yeah.
posted by howfar at 4:20 PM on March 30, 2016
posted by howfar at 4:20 PM on March 30, 2016
I guess this wouldn't be much of a conversation thread if we limited it to "yay for socks", y'know?
posted by howfar at 4:22 PM on March 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by howfar at 4:22 PM on March 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Maybe if more people figured out ways to manufacture things in the US people would have more secure employment and could buy things. I seriously don't get why people are shitting all over this. She is the one who is doing the right thing here. Being grumpy about what this lady did, as if less people should try this because it's not fair to people who can't afford expensive goods? Only seems to contribute to our country's death spiral.
posted by bleep at 4:22 PM on March 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by bleep at 4:22 PM on March 30, 2016 [5 favorites]
The broader economic point is that we probably can't rely on the spirit of entrepreneurship to save us from some very profound socioeconomic questions. That's not shitting on this enterprise, or being grumpy about it, it's just talking about it in a wider context. That's interesting to some people and not to others, but that doesn't mean anyone's talking about it wrong.
posted by howfar at 4:26 PM on March 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by howfar at 4:26 PM on March 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
Noted for future Secret Quonsar gift
posted by BobtheThief at 4:44 PM on March 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by BobtheThief at 4:44 PM on March 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
Manufacturing high quality novelty socks require very high needle-count sock machines which are prohibitively expensive for individuals. These machines pretty much only exist in South Korea, China and Japan. Furthermore not all factories are created equal - there are only certain places that make a truly high-quality product. These factories are already fully booked with often more orders than they can handle and, like in any other industry, give preference to high-volume clients with whom they have pre-existing relationships. Sock companies literally keep their factory list under lock and key because that information is so precious.
And then, even if you can get the contact info and get them to take you on as a client, there are minimum orders quantities which make it difficult for even established companies to get good margins depending on order volume. And how do you ensure you're not getting your socks manufactured at some slave-labor camp? Manufacturers will often subcontract out the manufacture for low-priority (and sometimes even high-priority) clients, putting on a dog-and-pony show only when clients come to visit, which by the way is also expensive.
So the barrier to entry for one young, creative woman like my wife is many orders of magnitude higher than it is for someone with a sock mill literally in their backyard.
posted by grumpybear69 at 5:04 PM on March 30, 2016 [15 favorites]
And then, even if you can get the contact info and get them to take you on as a client, there are minimum orders quantities which make it difficult for even established companies to get good margins depending on order volume. And how do you ensure you're not getting your socks manufactured at some slave-labor camp? Manufacturers will often subcontract out the manufacture for low-priority (and sometimes even high-priority) clients, putting on a dog-and-pony show only when clients come to visit, which by the way is also expensive.
So the barrier to entry for one young, creative woman like my wife is many orders of magnitude higher than it is for someone with a sock mill literally in their backyard.
posted by grumpybear69 at 5:04 PM on March 30, 2016 [15 favorites]
Which is not to discredit what Gina has done - she's obviously a talented businessperson who cannot be faulted for the very good cards she was dealt and I wish her nothing but success.
posted by grumpybear69 at 5:08 PM on March 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 5:08 PM on March 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
The kind of machine you need for novelty socks is this one.
posted by grumpybear69 at 5:35 PM on March 30, 2016
posted by grumpybear69 at 5:35 PM on March 30, 2016
I like that she is also sourcing her organic thread from the US and sourcing her dye from the US. So she is helping keep jobs in the US even outside of her small company.
posted by jillithd at 5:45 PM on March 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by jillithd at 5:45 PM on March 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
You buy the machine when it makes financial sense to invest in your own equipment rather than contract out to overseas factories. And if you own one or more of these very expensive machines you are likely both using them to manufacture your product as well as the products of others, because maximizing utilization is pretty critical, unless the volume of your own product is so high that it either isn't necessary or would be more of a hindrance than a benefit.
A lot of the big factories produce original product as well as licensed product in addition to taking custom orders. It is not either/or.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:00 PM on March 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
A lot of the big factories produce original product as well as licensed product in addition to taking custom orders. It is not either/or.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:00 PM on March 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
Sock Queen of Alabama
Makin those socks on some looms
Sock Queen of Alabama
They come in a range of tones and hues
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:35 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Makin those socks on some looms
Sock Queen of Alabama
They come in a range of tones and hues
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:35 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
b1tr0t: "Far from concentrating wealth into a few hands, contract manufacturing breaks up the vertical integration of the old manufacturing world."
While I couldn't find data regarding wealth concentration per se, I was able to find data regarding industry concentration within US manufacturing via the US census. In particular, they provide Herfindahl-Hirschman indices for the top 50 firms across the various NAICS manufacturing subcategories. Comparing 2002 to 2012 (the latest available), 4 out of the 21 3-digit subcategories (accounting for ~20% of manufacturing activity in 2012) showed a substantial decrease in concentration: textile product mills, apparel, computer and electronic components, and transportation equipment. The remaining 17 categories all showed either flat or substantially increased industry concentation with textile mills (not the same as textile product mills), leather products, and printing showing the largest increases.
While further research would be required to validate this, the industries that showed decreases in concentration do seem to suggest support for the thesis.
posted by mhum at 7:49 PM on March 30, 2016
While I couldn't find data regarding wealth concentration per se, I was able to find data regarding industry concentration within US manufacturing via the US census. In particular, they provide Herfindahl-Hirschman indices for the top 50 firms across the various NAICS manufacturing subcategories. Comparing 2002 to 2012 (the latest available), 4 out of the 21 3-digit subcategories (accounting for ~20% of manufacturing activity in 2012) showed a substantial decrease in concentration: textile product mills, apparel, computer and electronic components, and transportation equipment. The remaining 17 categories all showed either flat or substantially increased industry concentation with textile mills (not the same as textile product mills), leather products, and printing showing the largest increases.
While further research would be required to validate this, the industries that showed decreases in concentration do seem to suggest support for the thesis.
posted by mhum at 7:49 PM on March 30, 2016
> “It’s the newest sock machine you can get. It’s made in Italy. It’s like a Ferrari.”
Apparently there is a well known Italian sock machine manufacturer called Busi Giovanni. They have a video page which is interesting - includes a 2013 video from a successful kick-starter for super colorful mens socks from a company called xoab that looks based in North Carolina - but this russian video shows the machine operation more clearly.
posted by anti social order at 8:34 PM on March 30, 2016
Apparently there is a well known Italian sock machine manufacturer called Busi Giovanni. They have a video page which is interesting - includes a 2013 video from a successful kick-starter for super colorful mens socks from a company called xoab that looks based in North Carolina - but this russian video shows the machine operation more clearly.
posted by anti social order at 8:34 PM on March 30, 2016
I feel like this is something else: artisanal stuff for those of us who are never going to be able to afford the full fit into standard-sized items but want to be able to participate in the trend.
Fixed that for me. So much cute fashion, so few size options. Hobbit feet and can't do cute shoes much, despite many AskMes here on the topic.
posted by tilde at 9:03 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Fixed that for me. So much cute fashion, so few size options. Hobbit feet and can't do cute shoes much, despite many AskMes here on the topic.
posted by tilde at 9:03 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
You don't correct the grammar in quotes.
or in quotations.
More like you don't correct the "grammar" in quotes, amirite?
I don't think the grammar is poor. There's just fun, strange little stylistic choices all over the place there! Examples, described:
Ms. Locklear, now 36, grew up in the business. Her parents, Terry and Regina Locklear, started a mill in Fort Payne, Ala., in 1991. They made white sport socks for Russell Athletic, millions of them, destined for big-box stores and your own feet if you took gym class.
The last part, "...and your own feet if you took gym class." This seems like a sort of goofy way to express this thought, which doesn't really add much to the sentence anyway. As if one has to make a connection to normal life for people to relate to the idea of socks. As if some people are going to be alienated by the mention of socks until reminded that they wore them for gym class.
The Locklears held on to their mill, but barely...“We’d just come here and sit,” Terry said. “We would talk, and it was, like, ‘I just don’t know what we’re going to do.’ We still had our knowledge.”
Not the most eloquent or revealing direct quote to use for a simple idea.
Her parents were skeptical. They knew how hard it was to compete and how much money it would take to start a brand. They didn’t get the whole organic thing. Most of all, they didn’t want their oldest daughter to do something she’d soon regret or tire of.
“But it’s been everything except any of that,” her father said.
This just sounds like they're fucking with the reporter. It almost sounds like something Yogi Berra would say.
Her mother added: “She absolutely loves what she does. She’s on fire.”
Her daughter, the possible textile magnate, is "on fire." Why. Of all the words to use why this one. Why would you say that.
“It’s hard every day but I still love it,” she said. “It’s what I want to do forever.”
So wistful, and such an oddly bathetic coda to a story about sock manufacturing.
posted by clockzero at 9:28 PM on March 30, 2016
or in quotations.
More like you don't correct the "grammar" in quotes, amirite?
I don't think the grammar is poor. There's just fun, strange little stylistic choices all over the place there! Examples, described:
Ms. Locklear, now 36, grew up in the business. Her parents, Terry and Regina Locklear, started a mill in Fort Payne, Ala., in 1991. They made white sport socks for Russell Athletic, millions of them, destined for big-box stores and your own feet if you took gym class.
The last part, "...and your own feet if you took gym class." This seems like a sort of goofy way to express this thought, which doesn't really add much to the sentence anyway. As if one has to make a connection to normal life for people to relate to the idea of socks. As if some people are going to be alienated by the mention of socks until reminded that they wore them for gym class.
The Locklears held on to their mill, but barely...“We’d just come here and sit,” Terry said. “We would talk, and it was, like, ‘I just don’t know what we’re going to do.’ We still had our knowledge.”
Not the most eloquent or revealing direct quote to use for a simple idea.
Her parents were skeptical. They knew how hard it was to compete and how much money it would take to start a brand. They didn’t get the whole organic thing. Most of all, they didn’t want their oldest daughter to do something she’d soon regret or tire of.
“But it’s been everything except any of that,” her father said.
This just sounds like they're fucking with the reporter. It almost sounds like something Yogi Berra would say.
Her mother added: “She absolutely loves what she does. She’s on fire.”
Her daughter, the possible textile magnate, is "on fire." Why. Of all the words to use why this one. Why would you say that.
“It’s hard every day but I still love it,” she said. “It’s what I want to do forever.”
So wistful, and such an oddly bathetic coda to a story about sock manufacturing.
posted by clockzero at 9:28 PM on March 30, 2016
I love colorful socks. My latest favorite pair is from these folks so I appreciate the links with other companies and designs here.
posted by migurski at 9:28 PM on March 30, 2016
posted by migurski at 9:28 PM on March 30, 2016
When I was attending a well-regarded jewelry arts / goldsmithing school recently, one bit of advice we heard over and over from numerous teachers and mentors is don't try to compete with Wal-Mart, IOW, the low-end mass produced market. There is no way to beat them on price or marketing, and in that market there isn't much value in craft or artistry - price is everything. Some of these artisan-type businesses may seem a bit precious and twee, for People of a Certain Class, but they are mostly trying to compete in a way that allows them to stay in business.
Cheap socks aren't hard to find, and nobody cares enough to pay more for cheap socks just to keep a local company in business. You have to find a market to make it work, and unless you're Wal-Mart, your desired market isn't looking for the lowest price. And if you make a product by hand with highly developed skills, you have to price your skills and labor accordingly. A corollary to that guidance is the rule that, if you price your product below a certain level, you will drive away business from some market segments. Some people avoid "cheap."
posted by krinklyfig at 11:12 PM on March 30, 2016 [8 favorites]
Cheap socks aren't hard to find, and nobody cares enough to pay more for cheap socks just to keep a local company in business. You have to find a market to make it work, and unless you're Wal-Mart, your desired market isn't looking for the lowest price. And if you make a product by hand with highly developed skills, you have to price your skills and labor accordingly. A corollary to that guidance is the rule that, if you price your product below a certain level, you will drive away business from some market segments. Some people avoid "cheap."
posted by krinklyfig at 11:12 PM on March 30, 2016 [8 favorites]
It the surface it might seem like all luxury items will suffer reduced sales in a depressed economy, but might it be that low-priced items like socks are actually in greater demand? I remember seeing some article that said cinema visits went up when belts are tightened, as seeing a movie is actually a fairly cheap way to have a night out. So people have less money, but still want to treat themselves occasionally, and $13 designer socks are of course much more affordable than, say, a $1000 designer handbag, while delivering much of the same value to the customer.
posted by Harald74 at 12:25 AM on March 31, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Harald74 at 12:25 AM on March 31, 2016 [3 favorites]
Socks, man. My wife has been designing novelty socks for the last 9 years. We literally have more awesome socks at home than we have room for. She's love to start her own line, but unlike the protagonist of this riches-to-less-riches-and-back-to-riches story she doesn't have, you know, an entire sock manufacturing infrastructure at her disposal. As it is she has to fight tooth and nail to make any career advancement at all. Pretty much every interesting sock company is small and owned by the person who started it which makes stretching out creatively and growing job-wise very, very difficult.
It would seem to make sense that contracting out to a company like the one in the article be a good way for somebody like your wife to get a start in business. Utilize their excess capacity (assuming it exists) without having to invest in your own equipment. Sounds like it could be a great way to get your feet wet (pun intended) in business without a ton of cash outlay.
posted by SteveInMaine at 2:52 AM on March 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
It would seem to make sense that contracting out to a company like the one in the article be a good way for somebody like your wife to get a start in business. Utilize their excess capacity (assuming it exists) without having to invest in your own equipment. Sounds like it could be a great way to get your feet wet (pun intended) in business without a ton of cash outlay.
posted by SteveInMaine at 2:52 AM on March 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Just about every pair of socks I own is from Nice Laundry. My wife is exceedingly understanding.
posted by emelenjr at 4:23 AM on March 31, 2016
posted by emelenjr at 4:23 AM on March 31, 2016
It the surface it might seem like all luxury items will suffer reduced sales in a depressed economy, but might it be that low-priced items like socks are actually in greater demand? I remember seeing some article that said cinema visits went up when belts are tightened, as seeing a movie is actually a fairly cheap way to have a night out. So people have less money, but still want to treat themselves occasionally, and $13 designer socks are of course much more affordable than, say, a $1000 designer handbag, while delivering much of the same value to the customer.
This makes sense, but it is only going to be very particular items and services that will benefit from this. The rise in inequality has gutted many traditional middle class retailers, leaving mostly lower end and luxury options. But even people who are hurting economically want, and can sometimes afford, treats and luxuries, and I can see how a really nice and pretty $13 pair of socks could easily fit into that category.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:41 AM on March 31, 2016
This makes sense, but it is only going to be very particular items and services that will benefit from this. The rise in inequality has gutted many traditional middle class retailers, leaving mostly lower end and luxury options. But even people who are hurting economically want, and can sometimes afford, treats and luxuries, and I can see how a really nice and pretty $13 pair of socks could easily fit into that category.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:41 AM on March 31, 2016
If I had an excess pile of cash, I would so buy myself a dock-making machine. Every morning I'd have it make me a fresh pair of socks. OMG. Heaven.
posted by five fresh fish at 12:51 PM on March 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by five fresh fish at 12:51 PM on March 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
grumpybear69: "Socks, man. My wife has been designing novelty socks for the last 9 years. We literally have more awesome socks at home than we have room for. She's love to start her own line, but unlike the protagonist of this riches-to-less-riches-and-back-to-riches story she doesn't have, you know, an entire sock manufacturing infrastructure at her disposal. As it is she has to fight tooth and nail to make any career advancement at all. Pretty much every interesting sock company is small and owned by the person who started it which makes stretching out creatively and growing job-wise very, very difficult."
1) We have a metafilter mall
2) We love to support our members.
3) I'm considering a subscription to bombas.
help me help you, man.
posted by boo_radley at 2:23 PM on March 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
1) We have a metafilter mall
2) We love to support our members.
3) I'm considering a subscription to bombas.
help me help you, man.
posted by boo_radley at 2:23 PM on March 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
Interesting thread, and thoughtful conversation. It's rare to see even-handed discussion on these topics. (Ya, I'm a metafilter noob, brought out of the woodwork by a mention of our company in this string.)
My brother and I are some of those artisanal start-up people, and we're trying our hand at sock manufacturing because we like creating tangible things, have the skills to start a company and brand, have some of the skills needed to understand and innovate in textiles, and weren't happy with the socks we were able to find. Another appeal of socks, as opposed to other items of clothing, is that they're small; the economic risk for making inevitable wrong guesses in inventory and planning is less than for larger, more expensive, items. They're also widely consumed, like tires or soup cans, and people tend to buy them periodically. (More than 3.5 billion pairs of socks were sold in the US in 2013, when we started our adventure.)
The economics of the industry are fun - we were floored when we discovered that the pretty designer mens socks we saw selling for $35 a pair in NYC had a first cost, on the dock in Thailand, of around 50 cents. The cost to make high-quality socks here in the US, using quality materials, can be more than ten times higher.
We committed to making socks in the US, despite that cost differential, not for any abstract reasons, but because the kind of iterative innovation we do is much harder with a 12,000 mile supply chain in the middle of our workflow. Because contract manufacturing is paid for on a piecework basis, it's very hard to get a manufacturer to move outside of their comfort zone (sometime needed for innovation) and slow down or interrupt their production line to do something different. It's doubly hard when the mill is far away and we don't have people on the ground to champion process innovation and quality management.
posted by ricklevine at 3:45 PM on March 31, 2016 [7 favorites]
My brother and I are some of those artisanal start-up people, and we're trying our hand at sock manufacturing because we like creating tangible things, have the skills to start a company and brand, have some of the skills needed to understand and innovate in textiles, and weren't happy with the socks we were able to find. Another appeal of socks, as opposed to other items of clothing, is that they're small; the economic risk for making inevitable wrong guesses in inventory and planning is less than for larger, more expensive, items. They're also widely consumed, like tires or soup cans, and people tend to buy them periodically. (More than 3.5 billion pairs of socks were sold in the US in 2013, when we started our adventure.)
The economics of the industry are fun - we were floored when we discovered that the pretty designer mens socks we saw selling for $35 a pair in NYC had a first cost, on the dock in Thailand, of around 50 cents. The cost to make high-quality socks here in the US, using quality materials, can be more than ten times higher.
We committed to making socks in the US, despite that cost differential, not for any abstract reasons, but because the kind of iterative innovation we do is much harder with a 12,000 mile supply chain in the middle of our workflow. Because contract manufacturing is paid for on a piecework basis, it's very hard to get a manufacturer to move outside of their comfort zone (sometime needed for innovation) and slow down or interrupt their production line to do something different. It's doubly hard when the mill is far away and we don't have people on the ground to champion process innovation and quality management.
posted by ricklevine at 3:45 PM on March 31, 2016 [7 favorites]
b1tr0t: You buy the machine when you want to be a rent seeker rather than a sock designer. Which is fine, if you want to be a rent seeker.
grumpybear69: You buy the machine when it makes financial sense to invest in your own equipment rather than contract out to overseas factories. And if you own one or more of these very expensive machines you are likely both using them to manufacture your product as well as the products of others, because maximizing utilization is pretty critical, unless the volume of your own product is so high that it either isn't necessary or would be more of a hindrance than a benefit.
We bought knitting machines (the Busi Giovanni machines mentioned by anti social order) because there were none in the US. They were custom-made to our specifications, and we modified the machine software to do the things we needed; getting a contract mill to invest in hardware and make the changes we wanted would be unreasonable, unless we could commit to making hundreds of thousands of pairs of socks. Which we couldn't.
The "rent seeker" comment fascinates me. As a craftsman, I don't buy or make tools because I want to rent them to someone else, it's because my job isn't possible without them, or is enough more painful that I'm willing to spend the money and time to eliminate the pain. (We did finance our knitting machines, and we do occasionally accept work from other brands, with the caveat that we won't compete against ourselves. Sport socks, which we don't sell, are fine. Men's dress socks, not so much.)
posted by ricklevine at 3:54 PM on March 31, 2016 [5 favorites]
grumpybear69: You buy the machine when it makes financial sense to invest in your own equipment rather than contract out to overseas factories. And if you own one or more of these very expensive machines you are likely both using them to manufacture your product as well as the products of others, because maximizing utilization is pretty critical, unless the volume of your own product is so high that it either isn't necessary or would be more of a hindrance than a benefit.
We bought knitting machines (the Busi Giovanni machines mentioned by anti social order) because there were none in the US. They were custom-made to our specifications, and we modified the machine software to do the things we needed; getting a contract mill to invest in hardware and make the changes we wanted would be unreasonable, unless we could commit to making hundreds of thousands of pairs of socks. Which we couldn't.
The "rent seeker" comment fascinates me. As a craftsman, I don't buy or make tools because I want to rent them to someone else, it's because my job isn't possible without them, or is enough more painful that I'm willing to spend the money and time to eliminate the pain. (We did finance our knitting machines, and we do occasionally accept work from other brands, with the caveat that we won't compete against ourselves. Sport socks, which we don't sell, are fine. Men's dress socks, not so much.)
posted by ricklevine at 3:54 PM on March 31, 2016 [5 favorites]
howfar: How do we make it tenable for people to produce good quality, ethically viable products, without having to make them into luxury goods available to a relatively limited group? It's just a restatement of a question of social justice so obvious as to be almost banal, but it's no less perplexing for all that.
There are symptoms and there are diseases. The fashion industry learned many decades ago (1980's-90's?) that it was possible to split the designing and selling of clothing away from manufacturing. Brands gladly divested themselves of their mills and the associated capital costs and risk and found they could get mills to compete with one another for each brand's business. Overseas manufacturers entered into the bidding in the late 90's. In 1999, the US produced 76% of the socks sold on the domestic market. In 2007 that was down to about 15%. The landed cost of socks from China in 1999 was $8.50 per dozen; in 2007 it was down to $5.00 per dozen.
The competition was almost solely on price. The last mill making high-quality men's socks in the US was shuttered at the end of 2007 after they had several large customers go overseas on bid differentials as low as a nickel per pair. With no capital baggage, and no factories on the balance sheet to keep busy, it became painless to manufacture offshore. The downside was that inventories bloomed, as the minimum quantities for efficient shipping were very large. (A 20-foot container, the smallest reasonable size, holds 60,000 pairs of socks.) Large inventories and longer holding times pushed sale prices lower, contributing to an ongoing consumer addiction to cheap clothing. The manufacturing and shipping cycle stretched out to 4-6 months, and it became harder to respond to trends and still take design and product risks.
From the perspective of a small manufacturer, there's been a window opened because of these trends. It's very hard for a corporate designer to take a chance on a wild design if they know they have to sell 10,000 pairs of socks, especially if they're 4-6 months away from a restock if they guess wrong. Men's socks in particular suffer from this. If we can make smaller quantities of high-quality socks, and field more designs and possibilities, we might have a market. That's why we're in the sock business.
posted by ricklevine at 5:00 PM on March 31, 2016 [9 favorites]
There are symptoms and there are diseases. The fashion industry learned many decades ago (1980's-90's?) that it was possible to split the designing and selling of clothing away from manufacturing. Brands gladly divested themselves of their mills and the associated capital costs and risk and found they could get mills to compete with one another for each brand's business. Overseas manufacturers entered into the bidding in the late 90's. In 1999, the US produced 76% of the socks sold on the domestic market. In 2007 that was down to about 15%. The landed cost of socks from China in 1999 was $8.50 per dozen; in 2007 it was down to $5.00 per dozen.
The competition was almost solely on price. The last mill making high-quality men's socks in the US was shuttered at the end of 2007 after they had several large customers go overseas on bid differentials as low as a nickel per pair. With no capital baggage, and no factories on the balance sheet to keep busy, it became painless to manufacture offshore. The downside was that inventories bloomed, as the minimum quantities for efficient shipping were very large. (A 20-foot container, the smallest reasonable size, holds 60,000 pairs of socks.) Large inventories and longer holding times pushed sale prices lower, contributing to an ongoing consumer addiction to cheap clothing. The manufacturing and shipping cycle stretched out to 4-6 months, and it became harder to respond to trends and still take design and product risks.
From the perspective of a small manufacturer, there's been a window opened because of these trends. It's very hard for a corporate designer to take a chance on a wild design if they know they have to sell 10,000 pairs of socks, especially if they're 4-6 months away from a restock if they guess wrong. Men's socks in particular suffer from this. If we can make smaller quantities of high-quality socks, and field more designs and possibilities, we might have a market. That's why we're in the sock business.
posted by ricklevine at 5:00 PM on March 31, 2016 [9 favorites]
“I’ll just be honest, it’s been a struggle,” she said.
That's where I almost gouged out my own eyes. Luckily, that also was the end of the article.
posted by alex_skazat at 12:33 AM on April 1, 2016
That's where I almost gouged out my own eyes. Luckily, that also was the end of the article.
posted by alex_skazat at 12:33 AM on April 1, 2016
The economics of the industry are fun - we were floored when we discovered that the pretty designer mens socks we saw selling for $35 a pair in NYC had a first cost, on the dock in Thailand, of around 50 cents. The cost to make high-quality socks here in the US, using quality materials, can be more than ten times higher.
This is why when politicians talk about bringing major manufacturing jobs back to the US, they're either stupid or think that we are.
There's no way that we can compete with a cost differential like that for mass market products, is there?
By the way, welcome to Metafilter ricklevine.
posted by SteveInMaine at 12:02 PM on April 1, 2016
This is why when politicians talk about bringing major manufacturing jobs back to the US, they're either stupid or think that we are.
There's no way that we can compete with a cost differential like that for mass market products, is there?
By the way, welcome to Metafilter ricklevine.
posted by SteveInMaine at 12:02 PM on April 1, 2016
« Older Mugs of NPR | The Bribe Factory Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by boo_radley at 2:03 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]