Over the knee socks (OTK Socks), major awesomeness

I know we all have our favorite styles and such, but I need to say that these "Over the knee socks" are my major weakness.

At the rate they're selling out, it's looking as if you all rock the OTKs too.

I promise to find more and get them to you asap.

in reference to: Over the Knee Socks- Knee Highs and then some! Women's Socks by Artisan Socks! From Artisan Socks (view on Google Sidewiki)

Rave Reviews For Artisan Socks!!!

Artisan socks is so brand spanking new that we love it and get all excited when we discover people have been chatting us up on line.

We are going to try to make an effort to say big "THANK YOOOOOU"s to people who promote and enjoy Artisan Socks on the web.

First, we'd like to thank mahyak from livejournal for all the nice things they had to say, and to feature their comments about us in today's Artisan blog post.

http://mahyak.livejournal.com/


Livejournal blogger mahyak:
Фор герлз онли.
Нашла носочный магазин.
Это невыносимо, особенно разделы с полосочками и ромбами.

http://www.artisansocks.com/striped-tights-striped-socks/


Sadly, as we are unable to read Cyrillic, we had to rely on Google's translator which let us know that the blogger had the following glowing praise for our lineup!

Google Translation:

Fort gerlz ONLY YOU.
Recovers Men's Shop.
This is intolerable, especially the sections with stripes and diamonds.
http://www.artisansocks.com/striped-tights-striped-socks/

Sock Diva L's Translation of the Google Translation:
To be 100% honest, I'm not 100% positive that that is actually a glowing review of our lineup, but I'm a socks-are-half-full kind of person, so I'll take that to me nice things and that they'd like us to carry Men's items as well.

I'm actually looking into men's socks as we've had a few people ask, and I'm a big fan of men in funky socks.
And by "funky" I really don't mean "stinky" because, well, EW!

sO ANYWAY, THERE WERE A COUPLE RESPONSES TO THE REVIEW AND INSTEAD OF LEAVING YOU HANGING, i DECIDED TO gOOGLE TRANSLATE THE REST OF THE POSTS AS WELL;
 Oops, random caps lock, back to normal here.
Perhaps that's what happens when livejournal is mentioned.

From http://mahyak.livejournal.com/265492.html

livejournal blogger gigavolt's comment about the Artisan socks post:

Очередной проплаченный пост:)

Google Translation:
 Another paid by the post:)

Sock Diva L's Translation of the Google Translation:
Ha! They paid you to say that!


<--Sock Diva L aside; No, we didn't pay them to say that as, well, we're not entirely sure what they actually said and are pretty much just hoping it was nice..

Livejournal blogger mahyak' response to the post:
щаз забаню к чертовой матери. 

Google Translation: 
 schaz banned to hell

Sock Diva L's Translation of the Google Translation:
...


Livejournal blogger aelinika's comment about the Artisan socks post:
аааааааыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыыы................
какие там перчаааааааааааткииииииииииии!

 Google Translation: 
 aaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ................
what there perchaaaaaaaaaaatkiiiiiiiiiiii!

Sock Diva L's Translation of the Google Translation:
...?

Livejournal blogger mahyak' response to the post:
 ага :)

 Google Translation:

 aha:)


Sock Diva L's Translation of the Google Translation:

I know this one!!
aha!


Livejournal blogger chaikafletch's comment about the Artisan socks post:
о как я тебя понимаю
носки.. я прям тоже носковая маньячка ))

Google Translation:
about how I understand
socks .. I'm straight, too Noskova manyachka)) 
 

Sock Diva L's Translation of the Google Translation:
...  ..... ...... ?




Livejournal blogger malashka 's comment about the Artisan socks post:
ааа!
ааааа!
ААААААА!
ВСЕ хочу! :)

Google Translation:

aaa!
ааааа!
ААААААА!
ALL I want! :) 

Sock Diva L's Translation of the Google Translation:
Yay! That means the pretty Russian lady blogger wants to buy our socks!  
I think. I think I'll think that just because.


Hey malashka! I will give you a $5.00 off voucher if you buy socks, shipping to Russia can be very expensive ;-/


Livejournal blogger lazuri's comment about the Artisan socks post:
 так все равно не наш же.. я просто так не люблю смотреть:(((

Google Translation:
so anyway we are not the same .. I just do not like to watch: ((( 

Sock Diva L's Translation of the Google Translation:
 I take that to mean that lazuri doesn't want to just look at out pretty socks, they want to actually buy them.
I hear you lazuri!
If you come to the U.S. or Canada, I'll personally pay to ship the socks you buy directly to the hotel or location you are staying in!
You too can have wonderful Artisan Socks!

and last but not least;

Livejournal blogger aldanare's comment about the Artisan socks post:
О, вот чего мне еще не хватает для полного щастья.
Полосатых носков, конечно же.
Обязательно займусь этим.

Google translation:
Oh, that's what I still do not have enough for a full щастья.
Striped socks, of course.
Must'll do it. 



Sock Diva L's Translation of the Google Translation:
As soon as I figure out what "щастья." is I'll venture a guess.

Well, I'm spent.
We've had an amazing first holiday season and it is time to do inventory and plan on what wonderful spring socks to order.

Thank all of you for your support, and please remember to have enough for full "щастья.".


~~Sock Diva L.

You Can has socks starring Jitters

Hasing cheeseburgers, a weakness, a lol..

starring Jitters McRound Kitty.


Happy weekend,



~~~~L

Cats for Cats!! Supporting discarded and abandoned cats and kittens one pair of socks at a time.

As corny and cliche as it sounds and is, I do inventory of all I have and have gained in the year, and I've always come out ahead. Even in a year as relatively hard as this one has been.

I feel really really poor but really rich at the same time; The shopping and spending leaves me broke *cry cry*, but the rest is pretty good.


Among this year's huge gains are, alarmingly enough a HUGE inventory of socks and stockings (could you have guessed?) and two super amazing kitties; Justus and Jitters.

Both of whom loves socks but in a very very "Bad kitty!!!" kind of way.

Justus and Jitters were raised until they were old enough to be adopted out (by me, woo!) by a truly wonderful lady named Pam from the Long Beach Felines cat and kitten rescue.

They could always use donations of food and of course money for the medical and feeding and care of the cats and kittens they save, and in these really horrible economic times, the number of people throwing away their companion animals and pets as if they were garbage is huge.

We've decided to try to earn a little for the rescue by donating a little from Sales of Socks With Kitties On Them.

You can always donate directly to them as well.

Hug your friends, family, and furry kids,
~Sock Diva L

Tis the Season! (To put little Japanese Secret Stretching Wool Socks on your Pets)

So we've finally gotten more of the fun and sexy Japanese socks and stockings up, but we all have a super special fondness for one kind in particular.

The Japanese make mini everythings, and we love them for that. When we were sock buying in Tokyo, the last place we visited had these amazingly fun baby socks that aren't from babies.

They're sold as "Travel Socks" that you can pack in your purse because apparently socks are the bulk of what weighs you down when you're traveling.

We wanted to 1. Get a good photo of the scale of the socks on and off and to 2. Humiliate our pets for fun because we're horrible people, and we came up with the following for your viewing enjoyment;

 

 

Here are the Japanese Mini Travel socks on Our Sock site

Merry holidays, sock wisely, and enjoy your pets,

~~~~Sock Diva L

This little piggie went to Paso Robles (also known as: Japanese toe socks gone wild)

So I said I took a work detour to go on our annual "tour around gorgeous Mid-Cal with friends and drink lovely wines", right?

And I promised you more photos of cool japanese socks that aren't quite up on the sock shop but should be soon, right?

I HAVE THEM! Woo~~~~
(The sock photos, not the items up on the site... Yet.. Any day now my pretties, any day now..)

I know you all know "Hello Kitty". We do actually have "Hello Kitty" socks, but they're actually from a great place called "Loungefly" here in local California. Um, Lo-Cal?
That sounds wrong.
But in case you wanted to see them, the Hello Kitties and Smurphs and Evil Mushrooms are here.

I've veered violently off track.
Oh yes.
Most people might think "Hello Kitty" when they think Japan, but that's so '08.
I went out and got exclusive "Hello Piggy" toe socks for you to maybe scoff and ward off the evils of swine flu or "Hamthrax" as it is now known to us. (Thank you for that one Danielle.)

So here are the little piggies, in their full glory.

This Japanese toe sock series also has a love cat (perhaps a nod to The Cure?) and rather inexplicably a a hungry panda who eats, shoots, and leaves perhaps..

Except he's not armed, he's toed. Left and right, two sides, these toe socks are actually pretty awesome.

~Sock Diva L

Japanese Socks and Stuff

So we're trying to get all the information about all the great funky and original  Japanese socks we bought for the sock shop up, but I had to go take a detour to wine country first.

Here I am, and a winery,  in a pair of the coolest adjustable socks, hamming it up for the camera.

I handed out some of my favorite Japanese toe socks to friend from Mars who didn't know that socks were worn on feet; (kidding)
Well, at least they are socksy ladies ;-)

The piggy toe socks were awesome;

Many many more Japanese original socks and photos to come.

~Sock Diva L

 

Towel Cakes & Parfaits: People will love you more

Cake Towel Gift Ideas Strawberry Marble Parfait

I just love these towel cakes and parfaits, seriously love them.

When I was a little girl, I bought a candle that was in the shape of this chocolate sundae all gooey and creamy with a cherry on top, and it smelled divine.

I think I managed to go about a week without biting it but gave in in the end. (I was a chubby kid..)

These towel cakes and parfaits kind of remind me of that.
They look tasty and the cherries on top are these cute little magnet things.

I don't chomp them, I promise.

Back home in Redondo Beach for a lovely fall day and Vintage Creations recliamed cashmere arm warmers

Today was a truly lovely day.

The weather outside is lovely, the business next door, "The Village Garden" is lovely as usual and the lovely Waki took lovely arm warmer wearing photos of the even-lovelier-than-cashmere-arm-warmers Danae which isn't really a blog topic I suppose, but the photos were so nice I wanted to share.

Full sized images and more images can be found in a Flickr set here.

To see the whole line up of original cashmere Vintage Creations arm warmers, click here!

Here's to hoping you have a nice and socksy Halloween.

-Sock Diva L

Fancy Schmancy Sock-It-To-Me Silver and Black lace / mesh knee-high socks ON MY BIRTHDAY!

So you think our socks don't get fancy??

Let me tell you bub, they do, they really really do!

So yesterday was my birthday and so we're staying in a hotel in Shinjuku with an amazingly breathtaking view.

There were fancy plans out in Ebisu (a secret to me) and it all started with me putting my feet once again in rude places in the evevator on the way down to the 20th floor lobby of the hotel.

On our way out, I swung by the ladies' room which had floor-to-ceiling glass walls facing out.
I usually get stunning vertigo when I look out glass walls, but I managed to stay focused enough to put my feet on yet more clean and pristine Japanese surfaces.

Dinner was lovely, the socks comfortable and cute.

A day well spent if I do say so myself.

To see the artisan socks product page for these Sock It To Me Fancy Pants: Black and Silver Shiny Crochet Lace Knee Socks, click here!

Little bit older Sock Diva L

Artisan Socks in Japan; The plusses and minuses of running an IT / online business and Violet Love Electric Youth Floral Leggings Footless Tights.

Here's to hoping I have enough content to make a post longer than that unwieldy headline...

One of the great thing about running a business that's I.T. focused (online shops included) is that you can literally run your businesses from almost anywhere as long as you have access to an internet connection.

That is, coincedentally, one of the truly horrible things about it as well. ;-p

So it is the day after a lovely anniversary dinner and we're on top of a Japanese mountain hidden among  trees, covered in mist from the hot spring, and we realize we really really need an internet connection.

I had dressed myself up for a stroll in the park in Violet Love's "Electric Youth Floral Leggings Footless Tights" (MAJOR PLUG) and was ready for a jaunt after we cleared a few minor issues up back at the office in the U.S.

(My jaunty Violet Love Electric Youth Floral Leggings Footless Tights Ready For A Jaunt)

Problem was, we had picked one of the few places to stay that didn't have a connection available to guests.

The closest internet connection turned out to be in the next town away reachable by train reachable by an hour one-way ride on the hotel's welcome bus.

While I didn't end up getting to walk the mountain park, I did get a chance to make my Violet Loves behave badly and earn a stern look from the very patient bus driver....

Love and Leggings,
Sock Diva L

Artisan Socks Goes to Japan! Special Days 1: Z International Legging with Buttons & Anniversaries

So I had this little prom dress kind of dress with a short skirt, and was a little shy to wear it as-is since the place we were eating had a slightly different kind of dress code...


(What People Normally Wear to Dinner in a Ryokan)

To help document my leg wear usage for you and to justify taking some of our new stock  overseas to model on my less-than-model self, I further abused Japanese rules of common decency and once again put my foot up on surfaces normally reserved for not foot bodyparts.

These tights were great; I could go really dressy and add a little funky, or pair them with a long top for an updated leggings look. The fit was great, they didn't bag or sag or stretch. These tights / leggings are a new favorite of mine.

And here's a view of the buttons in a little more detail.

And for those of you who know me and are sick and bloody tired of my silver nail polish, look! My silver nail polish!

Wheee!!!

To see these to see the artisan socks product page for these Black Cotton Button-Cuff Open Weave Ribbed-Knit Leggings, click here!

I've got another post soon with my birthday socks, until then, enjoy looking at pretty Japanese food unless you don't want to in which case, please don't and sorry to inject food into my sock dialogs.

Our Anniversary Dinner Because You Really Really Wanted To See It (hee!)

 

Sock Diva L.

Artisan Socks in Japan: Violet Love's Mixed Fishnet Knee-High Stockings Ride the Shinkansen and Have an Anniversary Trip.

I was listening to the radio a couple weeks ago and they were doing a "Top 10 things that should be sexy but aren't" segment.

Along with "Too Short Skirts" and "Body Glitter", "Fishnet Stockings" came up close to the top.
The reasoning being that they lack subtlety and kind of hit you over the head rather than whisper in your ear.

Says you! You can pry my fishnets off my cold, dead, uh, no, don't. You can't take my fishnets away from me.

So today is a wedding anniversary (mine, could be yours as well, you haven't shared that information with me yet so I have no way of knowing now, do I?)  and I wanted to primp a little for our shinkansen (high-speed bullet train) trip.

I chose to wear my Violet Love mixed fishnet knee-highs in an Asian-inspired print becuase it was fun to me.

Check me out getting all sassy! (<-- Does it make you want to slap me with newspapers when I write stuff like that? Is it way too "forced hip"? Yes, I agree, I'll tone that down so I don't end up irritating us all with my enthusiastic sock gushings..)

The getting ready photo:

The running-for-the-bullet-train-very-staged-except-for-the-guy-in-the-background's-reaction photo;

Here are my Violet Love's riding the bullet train and then getting off at the hot spring (onsen) in a mountain area called "Nasu Shiobara". (Once again, I don't condone putting of shod feet on inapropriate surfaces and neither scuffed nor harmed the back of the train seat. I promise.) 

(Click the image on the top if you want a good idea of what "mixed fishnets" look like up close.)


And just in case you're wondering about the shoes (OMG SHOES!) they are my wonderful Fluevog Arabicas in Cherry Caviar. Whee!

As you probably know, shoes come off inside Japanese houses and Ryokans, and hotel rooms.

Here are my Violet Loves in slippers checking in to the wonderful little mountain hot springs hotel, snuggling up to the Mr.'s feet on the day of our anniversary. Awww! <3 <3

 I need to go get changed into a robe so I can go soak in the springs and then have dinner, see you later!

To see the artisan socks product page for these Violet Love Mix Fishnet Hosiery Sweet Melon Knee Highs, Women's Socks click here!

Sock Diva L.

Artisan Socks Goes to Japan! Day One: Ozone Bunched Dots socks

*taps mic*
Hello? Does anybody read these things??
I hope so, and just in case they actually do, I'll try to make it a little interesting.
;-p

As you may have read on our top page (www.artisansocks.com), or if you know me have heard probably waaaay too much about lately, we came to Japan do do some super secret Japanese sock buying and to celebrate some events along the way.

We first went to a section of Tokyo called "Ueno" that we like for its closeness to the airport liner and the reasonableness of the hotel rooms and the yumminess of the plethora of restaurants in the area .

I'm also fond of Ueno because one of my favorite university experiences was the Nikki Kai art exhibit in the art Museum in Ueno park that I helped out with every October.

Before I left for Japan, I shamelessly borrowed (ok, took, not "borrowed" but paid for so we're cool, right?) some of of the socks and stockings and leggings we carry on our online sock shop, and promised to flaunt them about here and there and then give a little blog love to each of the fine pieces of leg wear I took with me.

I started out by wearing Ozone's Over the Knee  Bunched Dots socks in black with multicolor bunched dots.

Jeeze, I couldn't have said that any more boringly than that, could I?

Here are a few photos of the socks in action. But before that, I must say, I love the Ozone line so much it hurts me to only have two legs.
I want to be an octopus, but with people legs so I can wear more than one pair at a time except that would be creepy so scratch that.

Anyways, here are my Ozones getting dolled up in the hotel getting ready to go out and walk all around a surprisingly hot October Ueno.

What? You absolutely have no idea what you're looking at??

Fine, I have more Ozone sock photos, better too!

Here they are on the way to a train station to ride a subway to our super secret sock buying trip:

 

Oooh la la!

Want to see what other kind of fun my Ozone O.T.K. socks had that day?

Great! Because I just happen to have more photos. (Why do you look so unsurprised??)

Like this one of my way tired but still really funky fresh feet and legs waiting to go to the, ahem, Ladies' Room here:

(I promise that I didn't pick this izakaya out because it matched my socks, I just get lucky like that ;-p)

And while absolutely un-sock related, I'm happy to report that even though the lol cats in Japan are pretty analog:

The ordering is all digital to save you from actually having to talk to a hovering waitperson or something.

Thanks for reading today's entry!

Stay tuned for more Artisan socks in Japan!

To see the product page for the Ozone BUNCHED DOTS BLACK Dotted Angora Over The Knee Socks (OTK) please click the link.

Sock Diva L

**DISCLAIMER 

While I'm sure most of you know this, I feel a need to mention that putting your shoes and legs and stuff on tables and such in Japan (as well as most of the remainder of non-neanderthal societies) is highly HIGHLY frowned upon and to not to try that at home or in your mother's kitchen or in mixed company and such as it can offend and confuse. I promise I not only exercised the utmost in caution while taking these photos, I wiped all surfaces down after to prevent spreaditude of my legular tissue as well as to not insult my temporary host coutry's sensibilities.

Welcome To Artisan Socks

I can't tell you how excited we are to get our new artisan socks site up and running.

We're buying and sizing and trying and testing socks and leggings and leg warmers as we speak. As I type?

Well, I'm not actually multi-tasking that much, but we're doing it all right now.

We'll keep you updated,

Thanks for visiting,

Artisan Socks' Sock Diva L.