Partner Profile: Friday Sock Co.

You know ‘em and love ‘em, Friday Sock Co. is the stylish Calgary-based company that makes intentionally mis-matched sock pairs — and were the first of their kind to do it. Friday socks are ethically produced in Italy. The company is Canadian owned & operated. All Friday Sock Co. socks are designed and distributed from Kent of Inglewood’s hometown of Calgary, Alberta. 

We got a chance to chat with the busy company president Adam Thompson about his business and what makes it tick. 

Nathan Gareau: Thanks for taking some time Adam, I know you’re crazy busy these days with so many new styles, innovations and collaborations. First, I’d like to know why you started a sock-making company of all things?

Adam Thompson: I enjoyed wearing funky socks in my office job and had the idea to mismatch them in a tasteful way. They had started to become a conversation piece, and I wanted to push the boundaries a bit. I couldn't find anything in the marketplace that matched up well with my vision, so I got started designing our first six pairs. I just thought, “If I'm looking for this, there's gotta be other people looking too, right? Even if they don't know they are yet.” 

NG: Well you were certainly right, people go nuts for the mis-matched socks. Somehow they just make sense. When it comes to running a company, I know you’ve got some strong convictions. At the core of your brand, what values do you embrace?

AT: Creative expression - We do not think outside the box, because there is no box.

Originality - We make designs that do not already exist.

Doing the right thing - Always, in all areas of our work.

Fun - We create fun for ourselves and others.

NG: I like it. With all those parameters in mind, what have been the hardest parts of getting to where Friday Sock Co. is now?

AT: The sheer amount of work involved. When starting a business like this you have to accept that it will be part of your life, all the time. On weekends and holidays, the work still has to get done. We now have four people working with us so it's getting a little easier to manage the daily workload, so the beginning was definitely the hardest part. 

NG: I can only imagine! I noticed Friday has been going green lately. I was delighted to see you ditching the plastic hangers and the new cardboard ones seem fantastic. What inspired you to do this, and do you have any other green initiatives at work with Friday Socks?

AT: Yes! Lowering our footprint is a big mandate for us this year.  No more plastic hangers, we just have to wait for the old ones to cycle through this year. Everything coming from Italy now has the cardboard version. 

We're also in the process of getting biodegradable D2W mailers made this month and will be phasing out all polymer plastic mailers for our online store and subscriptions. Our new biodegradable mailers will be delivered in July and we can't wait. 

We're also looking at what we can do in the office to reduce waste and recently purchased reusable cloth “paper” towels. In other news, we recently switched all our kid socks to GOTS certified organic yarn which is also certified OEKOTEX 100. It's as safe and eco friendly as possible. GOTS info can be found HERE 

NG: That’s simply amazing. As something of a hippie myself, I’m pleased to hear that. Thank you again for taking the time to chat with us Adam. Before I let you go, I have to know; which Friday Sock styles could you not live without?

AT: I love all of them! But, I'd have to say gnomes and mushrooms, bacon and eggs, and movie camera and popcorn design we did for The Calgary Underground Film Festival.

NG: I definitely dig those Gnome and Mushroom socks, I’m grabbing a pair of them for myself. 

If you like the look and ethos of Friday Sock Co. socks, you can check out their range here.