sock fairy news and a q&a with the queen
We’ve had lots of exciting news at sock fairy headquarters lately, including some great updates within our local business community in San Luis Obispo, California!
In June, we joined the SLO Chamber of Commerce, linking ourselves with about 1,400 other businesses in our community. We have had a brick-and-mortar novelty sock shop in downtown SLO since 2007, and we also have a warehouse nearby where we ship orders from our online store. We’ve long been proud to be a part of our local business scene, and now we’re so thrilled to make it official!
Chamber members held a ribbon cutting ceremony for us at our shop, which also coincided with our 12th birthday. It was a blast, and all of us sock fairies felt great about getting better in touch with other area business owners. We look forward to attending lots of upcoming Chamber events while rocking our fabulous sock styles!
We are also excited to announce that we recently updated our listing with the Better Business Bureau! In our 12 years of selling crazy socks, we’re proud to say we’ve never had a negative BBB review, so we thought it was about time to beef up our membership details! We are now a fully accredited BBB member with an A+ rating, and you can visit our BBB profile here.
After we joined the SLO Chamber of Commerce, they reached out to us to do a fun interview with Brooke English, our founder, owner and queen of the sock fairies. It was a great Q&A, and we thought all you fans out there would like to read Brooke’s answers! Check them out below, and click here to see the full Chamber article.
SLO Chamber: So, why socks?
Brooke: Socks are such an easy and affordable way to add an extra dash of personality and fun into your outfit. And it’s up to you how much you want to show them off! Socks also make really great gifts. Anyone can come into our shop or website and easily find a sock that matches their personality or that of someone they know.
SLO Chamber: Favorite pair of socks:
Brooke: It’s so difficult to choose just one, because I’ve had so many favorites over the years! But if I had to pick one today: I’m a Girl, What’s Your Superpower?
SLO Chamber: What’s on your inventory-time playlist?
Brooke: We try to mix it up and keep everyone’s musical tastes in mind. You might hear bluegrass, ’80s pop, classic rock or ’90s hip-hop on any given day. Pearl Jam will always top my list!
SLO Chamber: What does a perfect Sunday look like these days?
Brooke: Spending time with my husband and two boys in the sunshine and heading over to my parents’ house for a visit.
SLO Chamber: Anything at the top of your bucket list?
Brooke: I would love to one day play the piano in an orchestra! I took lessons for nearly 15 years, and it’s a dream of mine to play with a group.
SLO Chamber: Favorite thing about your job:
Brooke: Leading a team with compassion and creating an environment where people feel truly seen and heard.
SLO Chamber: Biggest challenge of your job:
Brooke: The ever-changing landscape of the internet. And for that, I am actually grateful, because it continually brings new challenges to overcome and forces us to stay nimble.
SLO Chamber: If you had a magic wand, what’s one thing you’d change about downtown SLO?
Brooke: I would take out a lane of traffic and widen the sidewalks. Three lanes of traffic makes Higuera Street feel like a thoroughfare. I would love it to feel more pedestrian-centric. I love the recent updates to Garden Street, for instance. More creative solutions that encourage walking would be wonderful.
SLO Chamber: Share your top thoughts on balancing brick-and-mortar and online operations.
Brooke: They are incredibly different from each other, despite the fact that we are selling the same product. Each has its own team made up of very different roles. Yet both in our retail store and online, connecting with our customers and making them feel cared for is at the heart of what we do. It’s easy to connect with someone face to face in our store. It’s far more challenging to achieve that same essence of connection online, but we always strive for it with our customer service and fun touches like yarn bows and handwritten notes. Our continued connection to our customers (and each other!) has helped us grow into one of the largest online sock retailers in the world and employ upwards of 50 local employees during our busiest season.
That’s it for news for now! Our sock fairies are really working their wings right now to stock up on new products for fall. Check out a few of these brand-new styles that we just adore, and be sure to check out our New Arrivals Collection often over the next few weeks!
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