Disgusting Sock Contest. AKA Why I have no friends probably..

Disgusting Sock Contest Through the 31st on our Facebook Fan page Disgusting Sock Contest

So we've decided to have a fan appreciation contest that is almost entirely self-serving, a little gross, fairly silly, and that we hope makes you laugh as well.

Here are the details and hopefully the answer to the question "BUT WHY???"


40,000 Facebook Fans - Disgusting Socks Contest Extravaganza**
**and NO we don’t want YOUR disgusting socks!! Eww. We want to give you ours! Yay!

That’s right ladies, sitting in our office at this very moment is a bin of socks that have been modeled for our site. Just so you understand that sadness that is contained by this bin we’ll explain The Life of an Artisan Sock: Born, delivered to Artisan Socks, fawned over by staff, slapped on a models feet, paraded around shamelessly, photographed, torn off models feet, discarded, left to die in a Tupperware bin… (think Velveteen Rabbit, make tears)

To thank our loving and loyal fans we are having a Disgusting Sock Giveaway. Some big companies like to gain fans by giving away iPads and other items that people covet like lip balm and Starbucks gift cards, but we think that’s despicable. If you want to gain friends and influence people you should give them things that are used and raunchy.

Why you want our disgusting socks:
They weren’t always disgusting. They were once brand new, but then they were modeled and photographed. You may think models are perfect. You’re wrong, they’re disgusting. They smell all sweet and stuff and live off coffee, lettuce, and their ridiculous good looks and super long legs.
We don’t want their socks or anything else they’ve touched.

How can you get your hands on our used socks you ask?
Post a picture of your most downright disgusting pair of socks to this contest. Vote, have people vote, let strangers vote. Whatevs.

The top (10) voted “THROW THOSE OUT! They are hands down the most disgusting socks” will be mailed a pair of our very own disgusting socks. We’ll also award a “Judges Choice” winner so loners with no friends to pad their votes can still earn themselves some disgusting socks if they submit a good enough photo. We've been there. But probably because we're the kind of people who give people used unwashed socks. Once again, whateva.

Please do not harm or abuse the socks in your photos. We said “disgusting socks” not “disgusting things being done to socks” and we don’t want to know. NO GROSS STUFF! Just mangled, holey, nasty, worn out socks.

Oh, there’s only-semi nasty do-gooderness involved!!:
For every photo posted (good, bad, or ugly) we will give a pair of used socks to a youth charity. In this case, we will wash the socks.
You on the other hand don’t get washed socks, we can’t do everything for you and we’re already paying your shipping and giving you awesome socks.

A little about the charity we’re giving the other socks to:
It’s called Oak Grove Center for Education Treatment and the Arts and it’s a nonprofit 24-hour residential and treatment center for children. Children and youth are admitted with a variety of psychological, social, emotional, behavioral, medical and neurological problems; many of the children have suffered abuse and other traumas.

We love the work of Oak Grove Canter and if we’ve learned one thing from all of their efforts it’s that sometimes it’s the little things that do the most to rebuild lives. A music lesson, a dog-therapy session, (DOG THERAPY ROCKS BTW) a makeover; positive experiences don’t erase the negative ones, but they help establish a new pattern that can change lives. We hope that getting new (used but beautiful) socks is just one of many happy new moments. So please, post those disgusting socks pictures!!

For more about the great things happening at Oak Grove Center please visit : www.oakgrovecenter.org or visit them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oak-Grove-Center-For-Education-Treatment-The-Arts/136879286350721

**Please note: we actually love our models and are simply employing a device called humor. We've seen them eat humus too.

We need at least 25 plus sized women to help guide us! (Details in post)

As it has been pointed out to us, we have hundreds and hundreds of socks and stockings and stuff, but only 18 in plus-sizes...

Fernando Botero

There are a few reasons for this.

1.) There just hasn't been a great range so far of plus-sized products that we love and think you'll love.

2.) We don't know what you need most, and want most so we're going to try to go to you directly and get the looks and sizes you most want based on your feedback.

We're currently working with a company to get from 1x to 6x in many different styles, but we don't really know what you want / need /desire exactly. 

For your help in answering, we'll send you a sale voucher of $10.00 off of your order (which will equal free shipping plus for almost all of you).

How to participate:

1.) Answer the following 8 questions in an email.

2.) Send to "info@artisansocks.com", remember to put "Plus Advice" in the subject line. 

Absolutely ALL your information, names, private details etc. will be kept ABSOLUTELY private, so please be honest and open. We'll send you the voucher by email in reply to your answers.

 

Survey Questions:

1.) What size are you? 

(Most places switch this up so much it's hard to get a good idea, could you please give clothing size but also give height / weight so we get a better sense?)

2.) What type of stockings /socks / leggings / hosiery do you want to find, but have a very hard time finding online or in stores?

 (For example: "Tights / Stockings I can wear to work that are in demure prints." Or "Knee socks in cotton that fit my calf well" Or "Wild animal print leggings" Or "Solid color tights in colors that fit well" Or "Super sexy stuff" etc )

3.) Where do you buy most of your clothes?

(Shop(s) / website name(s) )

4.) Where do you find information / advice about plus sized fashion / stores / clothes?

(blog / website name(s) / source etc)

5.) Do you wear fashions that show off your lovely legs? 

(Chances are you should!!) 

6. ) If we had a weekly online chat / advice column etc. 

(Facebook thread or something) with a plus size stylist to help answer your fashion / styling questions, would you want to participate?

6a.) If "Yes", would you prefer to email in questions to have answered in the Facebook thread so you can keep your name private, or have it interactive online, real time as you on our Facebook wall?

7.) Should we order more stockings or leggings or both?

 

8.) Please look at the following Color / Pattern Boards and let us know which you'd like us to carry by number. (Ex. I'd like F6. F7 and W1, W2 and A5 and A8)

As many as you just love. 

Add in words other colors / styles / patterns you'd love to buy if we don't have it on our pattern boards.

 Solids:

Leggings:

Wear-to-Work Patterns:

 Animal Prints: 

Stylish Floral Patterns:

Pin-up / Retro Patterns:

Crazy / Fun Patterns:

Thank you for all your help!

Xoxo Sock Diva Leah

Sock of The Week: The "Those are absolutely awful I MUST HAVE THEM" black and hidden color skull toe socks.

Jolie laide toe socks. With hidden skulls.

Sometimes when we're looking at new socks to carry we'll see something and groan.

The groan's usually accompanied by a comment like this:

 "That's terrible!"

"Who'd look good in that??"

"Where would anybody actually WEAR that?"

"WHO would actually buy that??"

and then we generally move on to the next new item we're considering.

About 3% of the time though, contrary to all good taste, common sense, and basic business logic we then follow any one of those comments with "WE MUST CARRY THOSE".

These black calf length toe socks with hidden green, purple and red skulls were one of those odd cases.

We started with an "OMG! THESE ARE HORRIBLE!" and pretty immediately followed them up with "WE MUST CARRY THOSE".

I've heard that in French there's a concept of being both pretty and ugly at the same time.  
The term appears to be "jolie laide", but as a non-Francophone, I'm not going to make strong claims to accuracy here.

What I take that to mean is striking in a non-conventionally pretty kind of way. Memorable, eye-catching, and just a little bit off looking. Being one of those women, I find owning that rather than hiding from it serves me best.
But back to the socks.

1.) Any sock that hits you mid calf like these do don't do a huge favor to about 99% of leg types out there. Simple truth of shape logic there, I can't change or deny that truth.

2.) 5 toe toe socks, while awesome, are also freaky in some oddly primal kind of way because WE CAN SEE ALL YOUR CREEPY TOES.

3.) moving on to the skulls; they are human skulls.
Even if I could make an argument to the pleasing aesthetics of a human skull (but I won't) why would there be skulls on your legs just up to your calves??

And yet...
And yet I bought a metric boatload of them to have in stock to sell to you because BLACK HIDDEN SKULL TOE SOCKS!!!!

They are actually surprisingly cute on and can pass as regular black socks with a green band at the top if you need specially camouflaged socks for some very specific reason.

Have fun in the toe socks,

XoXo Sock Diva Leah

"Discontinued" vs. "Sold Out"

You asked for it, we (finally!) did it; the Discontinued Socks & Stockings page.

Until now, there has been a lot of confusion (and complaints on our Artisan Socks Facebook page) about us being out of a lot of what you want.

There are two main reasons a product would show up as "Sold Out" on our site;
1.) Because we were sold out of the item and hadn't  reordered because it wasn't a very popular item, or sold out and were waiting on a new shipment of great socks or stockings
2.) Because the designer or brand has run out of or discontinued the item and we would never ever again be able to order it.

However, like absolute idiots, we did close to nothing to let you, our lovely, patient and good-smelling customers know which was which.

Almost all sold out. Forever.

AND THEN ONE DAY IT HIT OUR LITTLE PEA-HEADS LIKE LIGHTENING!

We made a whole category for the items that would never be made again and called it, oh so surprisingly, "Discontinued Socks".

So now, oh happy day!, when you see something that says "Sold Out", it means, actually, "Sold Out", but that we can get it in again.
If you see something marked suchly, please call us at 1.888.34.SOCKS or log into your account and contact us with the AS number and we'll let you know when it will be in by or when we can have it in by.

HOWEVER

If it says "Discontinued" it means that the brand WILL NO LONGER MAKE THE ITEM in that style or color. Once they're gone, they're gone. Anything on the discontinued page is here only in limited stock so if you're ordering volume, call first, we probably don't have many.

Thank you for putting up with our slowness, hope this makes shopping Artisan Socks a little bit easier and nicer.

XoXo,
Sock Diva Leah