Yay!

I received this comment with an order this morning-I love it!

I hate socks, but I recently (two weeks ago) purchased a pair
of your pure wool mongrel socks while on holidays, I brought
them because of the color! and they were sooo soft. Since
wearing my mongrels I haven't worn a different pair of socks
since! I love them. Thank you for such a great product.
I have just placed an order for 3 more pairs for me and
2 pairs for hubby.
With love former sock hater.
Karen,
Drysdale, VICTORIA.

The great (and sad) white hunter!

Living and making our Mongrel Socks at our home based workshop on the edge of the Tasmanian bush, we love and encourage native animals, birds, and reptiles to make their home with us. But lately we noticed diminishing numbers, and were hard pressed to work out why. After seeing a furry invader one night, it became clear. Feral cats on the prowl, killing and eating anything that moves. So after contacting the appropriate authorities, council, government etc, I found the only way to tackle this menace was to remove them myself. None offered any solutions, one even said poison! There is no way I'm gonna poison an animal, which I think is illegal anyway. So...off to the RSPCA, where I was loaned a trap. Within 3 minutes( I'm serious) I had on of these furry little tornado's, the spitting, scratching flea and tick ridden thing it was. Nothing cute about it. I took it to the Hobart Cat Centre, a place where they rehouse unwanted domestic cats. After talking to the kind woman at the Centre, she assured me I was doing just the right thing, but that sadly this cat and other ferals like it would never get a second chance, feral cats can't be re-housed they are all put down. Over the next few days I have caught 3 more, all taken to their death. It is clear I am catching a whole litter. These cats never stood a chance. So either the quick and painless death by the vet's needle or, so I'm told, the sad and cruel life of a feral. But I still feel bad and makes me so mad, that domestic cats are not spade as a matter of course (apart from registered breeders). If all female cats that aren't used for breeding purposes were spade for free by local councils we would find the feral cat population declining, not increasing like it is now.
I'm hoping the mother cat of this litter is going to fall for my trap, because otherwise in a couple of months I'll be doing this all again.

Good Days

The sun is shining, sky all blue, it's a great day here in Tasmania. Busy, busy making socks. Here at the birth place of the mighty Mongrel Sock, we try to take advantage of every bit of sunshine mother nature gives us. Although, winter is the busiest time for wool sock sellers like us, the rest of the year is when we get most made, and when the work shop is the most pleasant place to be. It can get really cold in the shed through winter, so best we do take advantage of the long warm days of summer. Anyway it's one of those days so best get off the computer and in to it.

Tuff Mongrel Lover!

Just received this email today together with an order, it's alway's good to hear what the consumer thinks.

I need some more of your fantastic socks with the winter coming on. What I especially love about the socks is that they dont fall down. They have sufficient bulk to be able to be self-supporting, and of course they are not tight around the leg. Perfect!
Peter, Kangaroo Island, South Australia.

Peter, they are on their way!

Real Wool Mongrel Socks

In recent times we've had a lot of feedback from customers regarding widely available "wool or woollen" socks. Many of these customers have been disappointed with the quality. This is solely due to the misleading labeling that many larger hosiery business's are now using, which means the consumer is not getting what they are expecting and paying for.
In Australia our labeling laws state that only products 92% Wool and over can be labeled as pure wool, only products with over 50% Wool can be labeled as wool blend or woollen, then they also must specify the other fibre content. This has not been happening. Our labeling laws are not actively policed. Customers have to rely on the ethics of the maker. Sadly, not all companies treat their customers with the respect they deserve. There is always the greed factor which will entice companies to stretch the truth on their content labeling-given the choice most customer's will choose say 80% Wool/nylon sock over a similar 50% wool sock-there is money to be made by lying.
What happens to consumer confidence when a product is misrepresented and performs badly is that in future they will turn away from all products with similar (but truthful) labels.
We have had competitors copy our product using not only recycled( low quality) wool but huge amount's of synthetics that are not listed on the label. One was labeled as 75% wool, when tested had only 3% recycled wool the rest of the sock was made up of miscellaneous synthetics. This is not a labeling error, it is a criminal act in my opinion. Designed to part customers from their money by misleading them. These unethical companies, treat their customer's with contempt, and erode consumer confidence in good quality wool products.
I like to take this opportunity to assure all our customers we use real wool. Real good wool. In our Pure Wool Mongrel Socks we source top quality 20.5 micron super wash merino wool-it is not recycled. Recycling is good, as for as wool goes, recycled for carpets, yes and for other uses that are not next to the skin, but recycled wool is a mixture of microns and cut short in the processing, making it potentially prickly on the skin. Not something we'd choose to wear. Good quality pure wool feels fantastic on the skin, it doesn't irritate, or felt when washed nd is so thermally effective that you can be warm when it's cold, and feel cool in the heat.
Our customers are assured that they are getting what they are paying for, when they buy any of ur Mongrel Socks. What is written on the label is all true.
We believe that karma with kick in for our fraudulent competitors and their stinky socks.

Loving my Inbox!

Checking my emails today I got this lovely response (together with a good order) to a customer query and reply. Love it, when someone takes the time to let you know-they like what you.

Thanks Helen,

I'll have another crack at it. I thought I HAD picked airmail, but perhaps I accidentally moved the mouse when moving to the next box.

Thank you for your VERY prompt reply. I wish all businesses were as efficient.

I think the socks are fabulous, by the way, because I suffer from cold feet. My mum, who lives in Tasmania, sent me a pair of the wool socks for my birthday in March and now I'm "hooked" so need to get some more.

Cheers,

Debra