Irish Socksciety loves all that is quirky and humorous in contemporary Ireland. Best friends Joanna and Alex founded Irish Socksciety together in 2017, designing and creating colourful and quirky socks in Galway. It's fair to say their socks brighten up any occasion and are true to their motto, "havin the craic from head to toe".
Irish Socksciety is a proud Guaranteed Irish member and has recently been shortlisted for the inaugural Guaranteed Irish Business Awards. We caught up with them to hear of their success and what keeps them motivated to sustain the energy and creativity required to keep their business thriving.
Can you give us a brief history of Irish Socksciety?
Irish Socksciety was established in Galway City in 2017 by two Polish friends - Joanna and Alex - who met in the west of Ireland and discovered a shared passion for Ireland. Their joy of noticing and appreciating the nuances of the Irish culture, humour, language, and landscape together with a drive for growth led to establishing a business that certainly awakened the socks market in Ireland. Irish Socksciety’s motto: havin’ the craic from head to toe is carried through all of the company’s activities; from products themselves, via social media, community focus and sustainability approach. The brand is recognised and appreciated for being authentic and fun.Irish Socksciety employs 3 full time employees, two freelancers and full-time accountants.
What are the challenges that you face in your business and how do you work to overcome them particularly in the current climate?
Research, strategy, a positive and humble attitude, and love for what we do have always been our solutions to any challenge that we actually define as an opportunity. We have to be ready for the changing demands for socks and sectors that the demand come from. During the pandemic, online business has rocketed for everyone. For us - we made sure to make our customers and collaborators experience as smooth, personalised, and enjoyable as possible.
What has been your greatest achievement and biggest risk?
Gaining the trust of thousands of new and returning customers, whether B2C or B2B, is our biggest achievement. Their genuine appreciation, spontaneous feedback and suggestions are the engine for the business which we never take for granted.
Starting a new business, run by two female entrepreneurs, in a foreign country in a sector that wasn’t occupied at all, back when we established Irish Socksciety, could be considered risky. We knew our passion for Ireland, the Irish people, culture, language and fun would get to many hearts and soles of like-minded people around the world - and now we can happily say - we were right!
How do you sustain your creativity and remain inspired to create your signature colourful and quirky designs?
We are naturally tuned into daily life in Ireland. The chats in queues, greeting on the streets, conversations between generations, the weather forecast, the Irish language, music and laughter are all on our doorsteps, and we are embracing each of those moments and experiences on our products.
We also love interacting with our customers and followers and learn a lot from them!
What made you decide to become a member of Guaranteed Irish?
Ever since arriving in Ireland we’ve noticed that the ‘big g’ is very important here. We quickly learnt that it represents brands that care about the local economy and community, and our search for those started. Shopping products with the Guaranteed Irish logo has become our conscious choice and a peace of mind, that even in small actions we contribute to the local economy and support local creativity.
When we started our own business, supporting local, having community focus and sustainable approach were essential to us, and so membership of Guaranteed Irish became the same. We were absolutely thrilled to be awarded membership.
What does it mean for your brand to be shortlisted for the inaugural Guaranteed Irish Business Awards?
We are honoured to have been chosen as finalists alongside truly inspiring businesses. This recognition is rewarding for a business, but also on a personal level for us - it proves there are no boundaries for those who wish to grow, and embrace the beauty of Ireland.
Being shortlisted for the Guaranteed Irish Business Awards is also a valuable reassurance for our customers, who get to receive yet another confirmation of our efforts to work hard and have the craic from head to toe, while staying local, creating employment and truly being part of the community here.
Go raibh maith agaibh!
Click here to learn more about Irish Socksciety and shop their products: www.irishsocksciety.com