A keen cyclist, kefir maker, all random facts lover with a weakness for seafood.
Muirinn brightens up any place she arrives to, and she plays a very crucial role at Irish Socksciety ensuring, generally speaking, all is in order here.
CONOR
Conor is a genuine soul with a passion for music and motorcycles. He has a big heart for family, chivalrousy for his peers, and a keen eye for a stake. Conor writes music, sings, and has a lovely giggly laugh. He also makes sure all your orders land with you safe and sound!
WE ARE ALEX AND JOANNA
We are best friends who dance, laugh and work together – in any order really, as it usually happens all at once. We are the kind of people who usually wear baggy, black or grey clothes but socks, socks are very special to us.
We choose them very carefully, sometimes odd socks, sometimes patterned or themed and always lots of colour. That’s why designing socks is what we are passionate about.
Our socks brighten up any occasion from boring business meeting to a wonderful wedding, lunch with family or party with mates.
ENDIE
Endie obsesses about fonts, shapes and spacing. He loves brandings’ consistency, so if he designs corporate socks there is no compromise on any detail. He enjoys a bit of boogie and anything retro draws his attention immediately. The biggest Lego collection owner, not to mention the snow globes... Endie can talk, oh man, he can. One thing he does better than talking is design, and we are one lucky company to be working with him.
MA RCIN
Marcin is head to toe IT combined with creativity, and a spectacular drive for all things Internet. There isn’t an impossible challenge for him, and behind the closed doors we like to call him our ‘secret weapon’. Working at his standing desk with headphones on, Marcin plays a huge role in Irish Socksciety ensuring all our online interactions go smoothly, uninterrupted, efficiently and all that craic.
MICHELLE
Curiosity for the craic, kindness at the core and a witty storytelling energy, these are only a few words that describe Michelle. Michelle is one of those souls you get hooked up to and not only do you love working with them but become a forever friend. She is a caring human with a talent for speech and drama. Michelle is an explorer, of both people and lands. She gets to know Ireland through her endless camper trips and o she is an expert on all things Gaeilge.
ROBERT D’HIGGINS
Robert wheely is the backbone of the office. He carries us through the day and we would literally be wrecked without him. He might need a little push now and then but he’s always willing to jump head first into any situation. Rob loves to spend his spare time travelling and, much like his distant cousin, really enjoys writing poetry. He doesn’t like to talk about it, but he’s a very accomplished author under his pen name ‘Trolley McClure’. Ah sure look, he’s just an absolute legend.
BRAND STORY
Some brands are born naturally, out of passion, friendship and drive. Irish Socksciety is one of them.
Dia duit, is muidne Irish Socksciety agus ba mhaith linn tú a thabhairt ar thuras linn, turas ina ndéanaimid cur síos ar an údar ar tháinig muid go hÉirinn agus an chaoi a ndeachaigh an tír í féin – a cultúr, a teanga agus a tírdhreach - i bhfeidhm orainn agus an chaoi atá sí fós ina hábhar inspioráide agus paisin dúinn.
None of us, the two co - founders, ever thought we would awaken the socks market in Ireland. Joanna, trained as a publisher, Alex as a Spatial Planner had plenty of various ideas, but only in 2011 when we first met, the most bizarre and challenging ones came into life. Needless to say, for many years we lived beside each other in Poland, shopped in the same shops, but never met - it was Galway and its incredible charm that made us connect with each other… and so a friendship and new chapters began.
Bold and absolutely inexperienced we started our entrepreneurial journey by introducing a portfolio of humorous illustrations inspired by Ireland, Irish landscapes, culture, language and craic. We truly believe our absolute enthusiasm for Ireland spoke through our work, and so in time the portfolio grew into a range of products - mugs, coasters, fridge magnets, shopper bags etc. until this one day, when we thought of socks. We are one of those people who love black baggy clothes, and socks were always the extravagant part of our looks.
So why not socks, we thought, but where to start, was the real question. Apart from the huge chains there were no other places to buy socks. Nothing local, fun and sustainable.
So we took our time, we spent months learning how to design socks, how to speak the socks language, what yarns to use to guarantee comfort, quality and earth consciousness. We searched for options in packaging to ensure it will be sustainable and practical from the very start. And then we came up with the first 12 styles which included the You are a ride, Did you turn off the immersion, Bye bye bye, You are my cupan Tae, Feck it and more. We printed the designs’ options on our small office printer, suggested a few color palettes, sizes and prices. And off we went to the streets of Galway and Dublin to do our research.
We stopped people and asked if they liked the humor, the shtyyyle, the color, the price; would they buy a socks subscription, what shoe size do they wear, and how many pairs of socks did they lose this month. So much learning was made, and the Irish Socksciety fully launched in 2017 offering various styles of unisex socks inspired by Ireland, Irish culture, humor, landscape and language. We also established a first in Ireland option of socks customization for individuals and corporate clients.
The love for our products and enthusiasm for Ireland has been noticed and appreciated.
We’ve learnt so much throughout the years, made connections and grew the business. We create jobs, support the local economy and community. We are proud to be members of Guaranteed Irish, our now award winning socks flew as far as China and Australia. The best part of this journey is the fact that we got to create workplaces through sharing the beauty of a culture and craic that we love so much.
We continue on working with national and multinational brands on creating bespoke design socks that go into the drawers of people around the globe.
We love what we do and we give back to the local community by collaborations, donations and more.
We dance, laugh and care. We are havin’ the craic from head to toe, and are very much looking forward to sharing all the plans we have for the future. Because the future is bright! And in times when it’s cloudy, there are always ways to figure things out. Just focus on what you know.
We know that good and cozy socks are a perfect start to any first step that needs to be taken. One foot at the time.
An hour after launching our website, we got our first two orders. Important note - the customers were not our friends, nor family. We sold our first socks to someone in Wexford and Cork - wait, what? We danced in joy and we continue to do so until today, feeling thankful and so fortunate to be where we are.
Embracing all things Irish with a special emphasis on the Irish humour and language. Sustainability and community are at the core of everything we do. And we absolutely love everything we do.
Established in 2017 we are the first and leading socks brand in Ireland.
We are also very lucky, and humbled by the awards and feedback that our brand received over the years. We have been recognised for quality, sustainability and authenticity. We genuinely love what we do, and we put all the efforts to make sure whoever joins us love it too.
Here are some of our recent highlights.
2nd time in a row winners of Guaranteed Irish Gift Champion Business Awards
3rd time in a row winner of Gradam Sheosaimh Uí Ógartaigh
Winners of You Are The Business by Google Ireland and Enterprise Ireland
We are fortunate to have a large number of returning customers which create a lovely, genuine community around the product. We like to keep in touch with our customers, learn from them and listen to their feedback. Our recent survey brought wide smiles to our faces:
Our question:
What do you see as the core values of Irish Socksciety?
Their answers:
- Encouraging budding designers
- That you stay true to everything that is Irish; culture, Irish retro, music, literature, food, Irish sayings
- Celebrating all things Irish, competitively priced, superb customer care
- Irish based physically and culturally, with outside influences
- Sustainable female owned Irish business
- Quality products with upbeat attitude
- Quality, creativity in design and customer service
- Guaranteed Irish brand / Love All / Sustainability / Fun!
- Fun, welcoming, local, something for everyone
WE’RE IN
We are stocking over 200 shops and department stores based in Ireland, Northern Ireland, US, Australia, USA, France, and…Greece!
We could talk for hours about how lovely and dedicated all the people who run those local shops are, tell you all about their attention to detail, passion for Irish design, craft and people. In one sentence - they are purely sound and the best craic.
To see a full list, please visit www.irishsocksciety.ie
If you run a shop, or know of some new places around the world that we should contact, drop us a line to info@irishsocksciety.ie and say howya!
LOOKBOOK
DISPLAYS
Sustainable materials, made by hand, easy to assemble
WALL DISPLAY
Made of plywood, a sustainable table display explaining our socks. Arrives with a sample sock and description.
Size: 250mm x 350mm, comes with a hanger
DOUBLE–SIDED FLOOR STAND
Sustainable, double-sided floor stand made of plywood. Easy to assemble, comes in recyclable packaging, with a manual and display socks
TABLE DISPLAY
Size: 1650mm x 360mm holds 12 various styles of socks on each side.
To fill the stand order approx 144 pairs of socks
Made of plywood, a sustainable table display explainingour socks. Arrives with a sample sock and description.
My name is Cody Lee, I am from killarney in Co.kerry Ireland. After only recently becoming a mom, I decided to put my bachelors degree in design for interactive media to good use and start my journey as a freelance illustrator / graphic designer. Having the freedom to work from home with my family, creating digital illustrations, along with helping businesses build their brand is a dream. Check me out on Instagram and follow along on my exciting journey.
Codylee_art
GREETINGS BY PIOTR JAKÓB
We absolutely love all the buzz and creativity that is happening in Ireland. To bring art to an everyday product, which socks surely are, we often invite artists to collaborate with us on ARTIST EDITION SOCKS.
Here are a few examples and stories behind the creative souls from Éire.
MILKING IT BY CODY LEE
MILKING IT
SKU:
MILKING IT
SKU:
SKU: Barcode: Barcode: RS 384 RS 385
5391523553841
5391523553858 Size: 3-7 Size: 8-12
PIOTR JAKÓB
As a graphic designer, I derive immense atisfaction from combining my passion for art with my daily work. Creating visual stories that inspire and captivate is more than just a profession for me
– it’s a way to express myself. Every project is a challenge and an opportunity to explore new techniques and styles. I am passionate about art in all its forms, which continuously drives me to enhance my skills.
RACHEL ROTHWELL
YOKE
MAD YOKE MARIA RUBIO
MARION BELLIOT
THE IRISH CRAIC MARTINA LEONARD
GALWAY ANDREA ROSSI
SOCKS WITH A CAUSE
Authentic, relatable and approachable this is how Irish Socksciety is often described. It is in our nature to be a business that is strongly community oriented. In the professional world it is called CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). In our minds when launching the business in 2017, we knew people’s and plante’s wellbeing will be at the forefront of every decision we were about to make. It just feels right, and is incredibly rewarding.
We take a very holistic approach and genuinely try our best. Whether it is donations of money to charities supporting women in Ireland (50% of profits from I’m perfect campaign) official collaborations
with Down Syndrome Ireland ( + 21% of profits from The Socks 21), inclusivity on all levels, to creating friendships with our customers.
A customer based in Germany kept returning for more orders of socks. To thank him for his loyalty we wrote a letter and sent him a few gifts. Surprised and pleased he sent us a few gifts back. After an exchange of a number of gifts, and 39 orders placed on our website at that stage, the customer got in touch with us and asked if he could bring a group from Germany to visit our office, and
learn about the business story. The group visited in October 2024, we hosted them in Galway, talked about our passion for Ireland, Irish culture and craic. Yet again, we made friends.
We are extremely lucky and grateful to be in a place where we are. Irish Socksciety came out of our deep passion for Ireland. Passion that now also captivates others, and spreads the GRÁ all over the world.
Customized socks for your business/organisation/event.
Promote your brand with something different, practical and sustainable. Service available for delivery worldwide.
“
My experience with the Irish Socksciety was a positive one from the get go. They replied promptly to every message and question I had along the way, guiding me through the process in designing our charity’s own sock merchandise. This felt very rewarding when the socks were delivered (early!) and I could be proud of our own custom design. Everyone I communicated with on the team including Joanna and Alex were always really helpful and friendly and made sure I was happy with each draft design - nothing was ever too big an ask and they made edits in minutes for me!
Our socks are a huge hit now and I couldn’t have asked for a better process in creating them. Thank you Irish Socksciety for the wonderful service - we will be back for a restock of socks very soon!! ”
Niamh McGowan, UCD Alumni Officer
“
It’s an absolute pleasure to deal with the team at Irish Socksciety, our recent bulk order of Kerrygold Socks were a massive hit with senior leaders and important stakeholders alike and will become a stable part of our merchandise offerings as we move forward. ”
Imelda Barnes, Marketing
and Events Executive Ornua / Kerrygold
“
Our team has worked with Alex & Joanna for two years, designing two different pairs of socks for our organisation. Every step of the process was easy, enjoyable and efficient, and we’re delighted with the results. The socks produced by the Irish Socksciety team are always of the highest quality and have allowed us to gift supporters with a lasting souvenir from their work with our team. We look forward to working with Alex & Joanna again! ”
These will help us come up with the best ideas that suit your brand and needs
We will supply a variety of options to choose from
GAEILEGE
Thit muid i ngrá le hÉirinn and so all things
Gaeilge, especially the language.
Languages are like the spine of a culture. The way they are built, defines communication between their users, the energy in the society, and a whole feel of the culture. Languages depend on the location, the climate of the place, the landscape. The Emerald Island - rock by the water, land by the ocean, wind and sunny spells of unpredictable mood of the weather. The green land as far as the eye can see, raw and majestic.
Each word tells a story, the language is so uniquely descriptive and imaginative, no surprise Irish people apparently were the first western European people to develop a full-scale vernacular written literature. A literature that was expressed in various genres. Ireland is a nation of storytellers telling stories that are carried with the wind, through music and over many generations.
As another generation we pledge to embrace the beauty of the Irish language wherever we can. We are therefore saying, Céad míle fáilte, join us in this journey of creating a fun and contemporary context for one of the most ancient languages of Europe.
We embrace the Irish language in our business between our individual and corporate customers. If you’re a retailer we will help you introduce a few words to your shop/website.
We two years in a row winners of the Ghradam Sheosaimh Uí Ógartaigh award in the Digital category and genuinely have plenty of grá for the language that you will fin on our products, packaging, website, social media, office, warehouse… essentially - everywhere.
To set the mood let’s start with Scéal Gra - short videos showcasing class people of Ireland - both professionals and enthusiasts - who use the Irish language on a daily basis, whether it is for work or just pure craic. Hopefully this will become your landing page to find out more about the Gaeilge, and possibly learn your own cúpla focal.
Scan the QR code with your phone to watch our Scéal Grá series and learn some Cúpla Focal.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
SUSTAINABILITY IN IRELAND GUIDE
When it comes to being more sustainable, working out where to start can be overwhelming! It’s important to remember that no matter how small our steps may seem, they can make a big difference. We have put together a list of things you can incorporate into your daily routine to improve your quality of life and be more sustainable. Did you bring your own? One of the best ways to be more environmentally friendly is to remember to bring your own reusable products with you when you’re out galavanting. Water bottles, lunchboxes, coffee cups, cutlery, and metal straws are items we can bring with us. Many places around town offer a discount when you bring your own containers.
You total legend! Did you know that plastic bags can take 20 years to decompose? Popping some reusable bags into your every-day bag means you won’t forget them. And let’s face it, it’s much more stylish to be seen with your tote bag than a plastic one.
Eat more plant based meals! In many parts of the world, crop land used for animal agriculture is resulting in mass deforestation. Habitat loss on this scale is a climate change issue, and opting to swap your foods for plant based versions can make a huge difference. If you’re not ready to cut out meat completely, start by reducing it in your meals.
Cool kids compost their leftovers! If food goes to the landfill and rots it produces methane, and when we waste food, we devalue all of the time and resources taken to produce it. If you don’t have access to brown bins, you can get a small composter for your kitchen counter and read up on how to repurpose coffee grounds and other waste materials in your garden. Oh and don’t forget, you can save all your veggie scraps in the freezer to make a delicious stock for winter soups.
Turn off the taps. Being mindful of our water usage is an excellent way to help the planet and live more sustainably. When we have access to fresh running water we can take it for granted, so every time you turn on the tap, remember to be conscious of how much is going down the drain.
New wheels? Getting around on yer bike instead of driving is a brilliant way to be more eco-friendly. If you don’t have your own bike, there are plenty available to rent at various locations around Ireland.
Buying your fruit and vegetables from your local organic farm means you are reducing your environmental footprint, cutting out plastic packaging, and supporting local growers. Many local farms have open days where you can see the soil your carrots grew in, and purchase the vegetables that don’t make it to the shops at a lower price — further saving on waste!
Use Eco-friendly cleaning products in your home. Many cleaning products on the market are harmful to our oceans and environment, not to mention ourselves. Next time you’re sprucing up your nest, choose eco-friendly alternatives or try making them from scratch, there is nothing a bit of baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice can’t sort out!
Buying less, buying better and making sure to think before we buy. When purchasing something, aim to shop second hand first, and for new items, invest in high quality, well-made products — they will last longer and bring you joy well into the future. Take action! We all have different skill sets and access to resources, and as a result being sustainable looks different to everyone. You can get involved in climate conscious events, share content on your social media platforms, chat with others about the sustainable solutions you’re trying, and vote for change that is focused on protecting our planet.
At Irish Socksciety we try to do our bit by using OEKO Tex cotton which is an incredibly high standard of cotton that ensures there are no harmful materials used in the production process or finished product. All of our sock labels are sewn on with cotton instead of plastic, our packaging is sustainable, and we encourage you to repurpose it. We are also proud members of Guaranteed Irish and supporting our local markets and economy is at the core of everything we do.
Why we DON’T have branded boxes for corporate deliveries and shop deliveries?
Our warehouse is based in an industrial estate. Each morning coming to work I can see bags full of perfectly good boxes ready to be shipped to waste. Boxes that were used only once!!! So instead of adding to this madness we contacted local businesses, all the sound people in the neighborhood, and we collect their ‘waste’ boxes, give them a second life and educate our customer’s about the process. Of course it is slightly more time consuming, and needs a bit more logistics compared to your regular box order. Bottom line however is the fact that we genuinely Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
1. Our products are made of certified OEKO TEX cotton , which means no harmful chemicals are used
2. Our product packaging is made of a simple recyclable cardboard, printed in only one color
3. The cardboard is sawn into the socks so we don’t have to use any plastic clips. Did you know you can untie it with your bare hands? Like no scissors required.
4. Our envelopes are made of recyclable cardboard
5. Every printed material is printed locally on recycled paper - like we literally walk to the printers next door.
6. We have a Sustainability Policy that is reviewed every 3 months
7. We implement various programmes available for small business like Green for Micro
8. Our products encourage a discussion about sustainability. Our socks of nature come with a free package of organic, native Irish wildflowers that we sourced locally. Even the little bageen with the seeds is printed locally and on recycled paper.
9. Our corporate orders are shipped in boxes outsourced in local shops that were sending them to waste. We give the boxes a second life
Live by the rule-Buy less, but better. Practice makes a master, so the more we live consciously, the more aware and satisfied we become with the choices we make and the bigger change we make. Not just any change, but a well thought through step that brightens the future.
