Niqkita's Sock Journal

A few days ago I got a call from our sister sock company, Sock It To Me, inviting me to see their new arrivals and be among the first to get some. I was honored, got myself over there as soon as I could and picked out nearly two dozen styles, all of which are available in our store. Thursdays are when we usually take pictures of new styles and this week I picked the five I liked best, with a little help from my friends here at work, to shoot first for the site. (more…)

This week marks the one year anniversary of having a walk-in sock shop
…and a brilliant year it’s been too. It was never my plan to open a store, just to have a fun website that I could run from home in my spare time. As the years passed, nearly nine of them already, I needed more and more help as sales grew and grew.
We outgrew our spaces every two years until we got a nice big warehouse in the heart of southeast Portland with a perfect area for a shop in the entry way. It’s a tiny little shop that doesn’t always meet people’s expectations of somewhere called Sock Dreams because it can be maddening to know that “the entire Sock Dreams warehouse is right on the other side of the curtain” as one person described it, yet you are limited to the selection we have chosen for the store area (though we are always willing to find what you seek in our warehouse, we can’t actually let the public roam freely back there any more than Willy Wonka could let folks roam his factory). The very same girls run our shop that help us pull orders out in the warehouse in the morning and I make a point to work with them all so that I am sure they share my vision and love for socks. No doubt we’ll outgrow this space as our little shop has been far more popular than I ever imagined so we’re sort of on the look out for a second space nearby. Somewhere we can have more socks than even our most devoted sock brethren expect us to have, with spaces to try tryable things on, and lots of other fun stuff nearby for those who have traveled long and far to find us to enjoy.
And once again I find myself thanking all of you, near and far, who have helped make this journey such a joy and this dream so vivid. Whether you have only bought one pair of socks, told just one friend, or spread the word to anyone who will listen, my fellow Sock Dreamers and I are forever grateful!

Though it’s been warmer, it has been a less-than-awesome week thanks to an icky little virus that has been going around and keeping us down. I am a little behind in my editing and have been ignoring phone calls and emails completely for days.
One of the bright spots, and there have been a few, was a new batch of tie dyed socks from Tie Dye Eric. This time, O Basics! next up, fingerless gloves and bamboo crews. Plus, lots more O Basics because we’re sure to sell through these quickly.

And in the non-tie-dyed arena we have several additions being worked on…
from technical sports socks to sexy stockings and a few other fun things.
But for now, bring on the pretty colors!!!

One day recently Tie Dye Eric showed up at Sock Dreams with 2 pairs of tie dyed crew socks and a big idea. What if he took some of our dreamiest socks and performed his colorful magic…

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…Featuring Trina…

Genuine Super Loose socks from Japan, thanks to Tabbisocks!
as you may know, we’ve tried as many super loose styles as we could over the past several years with the EG Smith version being the classic. Unfortunately EG Smith stopped making them and all of their boot socks & leg warmers until they get their new mill running so I finally put in an order for this version and WoW are they great! super soft and amazingly stretchy. When I first put them on they went right uyp over my knees, no surprise there, but they felt as if they’d go over anyone’s knees. They didn’t stay up on me by themselves for anything, not even just below my knees, they drooped all the way down…

(of course I can get them to stay up with adhesive or sock garters)
As various sock dreamers here tried them on my suspicions were confirmed…
they fit over everyone’s knees!

and they stayed up just below the knees on several of the girls here! Trina could get them to go thigh high and they didn’t dent a bit!
check out these awesome new garters will be making live this week…

Several of our most dedicated sock addicts have already snagged a few pairs for themselves and for the rest of you, if you like this style these are worth getting!
We love them and just might do some custom colors since that is an option with these. But first, we still have a few dozen more new styles to test and shoot. If you happen to be in the Portland area now is a great time to go to our store because new stuff is being added weekly and often is available in our store before it goes online.

One month ago today a film crew of two arrived at our shop to film a segment for a local program called Portland Now on the CW channel.
Air time is Saturday June 28th at 9:30 pm and Sunday, June 29 at 4:30 pm
…if you miss it, or are not here in Portland with us, you can also watch it on their website anytime you like. Since I generally prefer to be behind cameras rather than in front of them I opted out of being interviewed this time and let our charming & lovely marketing girl Brigid step into the limelight for this occasion.

Of course, Bsti & I were there to watch from behind the curtain and were at least as nervous as Brigid was. I paced & answered every question in my head, every moment of silence seemed like forever til the next question was asked or answered.
I can’t wait to watch it on the big screen tonight!!!

Just the other day we changed out the center display in the store, so rather than the bright spring-colored stripes in the program you will now see these comfy & environmentally friendly EG ECO Slinky knees if you come sock shopping with us…

It was a gorgeous weekend here in Portland and a joy to be outside with a view of the Willamette River and people watching galore. Hundreds of people stopped by to talk to us and buy socks, it was really awesome to see so many people happy to see us, many have already shopped with us or have seen our billboard or have heard of Sock Dreams via friends, coworkers & family members.

This lovely hoop girl had stopped by our shop earlier last week to get her fishnets and leg warmers for the parade (which indeed had socks o’plenty proudly worn in many colors, especially rainbows)

I wore my sweet pea Dreamy Stripes paired with Betsey Johnson peek a boo shorties on Sunday and antique Super Dreamies on Saturday and proudly showed them off all day. With the help of my ever amazing crew of Sock Dreamers the weekend was not only a joy but a complete success. Thanks to all who worked it with me and to the many people who stopped by to say hi!!!

Sock Dreams is proud to sponsor Portland Pride again this year
and will be coming out for a fun filled sock selling weekend June 14th & 15th.
We’ll have plenty of rainbows and Eco Friendly Green socks of all shades plus a little fishnet and a few other fun styles. So stop by and say hi if you happen to be down at Waterfront park this weekend and if you left home without your socks don’t worry, we’ve got you covered, even if it’s too hot out for socks!