Another lovely customer of ours

An email we received yesterday.
 
My name is Ciaran (pronounced ki - ron), I live in Melbourne, and I bought some socks from you just over a week ago at Salamanca Market, when I was staying in Hobart for a few days. I bought 3 pairs of the Bamboo Tasmanis and I told you that I would tell you about these socks. They are FANTASTIC, they are warm, comfortable AND durable, and it's very hard to find socks that are all of those things. What's even better is I can wear them for 3 or 4 days without them getting smelly. I don't know why these socks aren't worth more - I bought them for $8 a pair when they were reduced from $12 a pair. If I'm ever in Tasmania again on a Saturday, I will be going to Salamanca Market to buy some more of those socks. Thanks.

Isn't that nice.
 

Cold snap.

Well winter's kicked in and and business couldn't be better. A bit of snow on the mountain always helps. We have been blown away by the amount of orders coming and going. Head's down and backsides up getting it all done. Here it is nearly 3pm Friday arvo, we're packed and ready for Salamanca Market tomorrow. With a frigid 10 degrees C forecast for tomorrow, we're thinking it will be a big day for our warm pure wool socks - so I have packed extra just in case. Tomorrow is the first day we'll have our new pure wool 3 way scarves - I can't wait to see if people like them as much as I think they will or as much as I do. I thought it was a really good sign when our normally fashion conscious teenager made off with the proto-type. I guess we'll see.

Our lovely customers!

I received this email over the weekend - we are so blessed.

Hi guys, i just wanted to let you know how much i love my mongrel socks. I had had to travel to Tassie for work and got off the freeway to find a service station so i could fill the little rental car up. And there were the funkiest looking socks i had ever seen. How could i resist buying them. My sons girlfriend worked in a male dominated industry where it was compulsory to wear steel cap boots etc, how fabulous to add a splash of pink and purple just to stir them up.

and for me???

well i've had them ready in my fire fighting kit (thank goodness they have not been needed for that) but when visiting my sister in Sweden i packed them. Let me tell you -10 degrees C, and my feet were never cold. Sitting outside on the phone with just plastic clogs?? no problem!! Inside or outside? I was just toasty, and my feet didn't sweat or stink. and easy to wash and dry.... too easy. I love them, I am addicted. Thank you sooo much jXXXX. glen waverley, vic

Customer Questions?

We're always happy to hear from customers, and get emails with basic sock questions, to some that are hilarious. I got this one yesterday, and have included my reply.

Hi!
I recently visited Tassie and bought a pair of your lovely warm socks. I was wondering how to speed up the wash-and-dry cycle... they took about 4 days to dry completely (indoors, out of direct sunlight). Do you have any advice?
Thanks!
Kylie, Sydney. Australia.

Hello Kylie,
Hope your liking your Mongrels, although I guess it's not quite cold enough for them in Sydney-yet.
The beauty of pure wool socks is (luckily) that they don't need to be washed after every wear. In fact they can be comfortably worn for a few days with out the festy smell most socks would acquire. They are natural fibre and as such less washing is better than lots, as heavy detergents can weaken the fibre, making them not as durable as they can be.
To get them to dry as quickly as possible, it is OK to have them in sunlight, it won't readily fade the colour, unless they are left for days on the line. It is also OK to machine wash on a short cycle including the spin to remove all excess water before hanging.
We don't recommend using a clothes dryer as it is really important not to use hot heat and most domestic clothes dryers aren't that reliable in the temperatures they generate. That said if you have a decent clothes dryer that does have a good, ie not too hot, warm setting, it would probably be OK to use for 10 mins to ensure the socks are really dry after they've hung for a while.

I don't know if that's helped or not, but the thought did just occur to me that perhaps you need more than one pr of Mongrels so waiting for them to dry won't be an issue.

Kind Regards,
Helen.

Why we do what we do!!

I just love the feedback we get from our customers. Had an order come thru today, which required some email to and fro'ing to get it sorted-here's the final email I received from our customer. It lifts our spirits to hear people loving our Mongrel socks, 'cause when you plug away doing the best you can, without feedback it's easy to forget why.
Hi Helen
Just made direct deposit to your account via CTB netbank for $142.50 ( express post please ) .We are a repeat customer & I still had your account details in my netbank accounts list - we sooooooooooo love your socks & with the first real cold day in Sydney today I decided we needed to get some spares . Look forward to receiving next Tuesday & keep up making the best socks in the world.
Have a great warm weekend in your woolly socks - I have a pair on today
Cheers
Kathy

What's warm, woolly and has us flat out like a lizard drinking?

The making of Mongrel Socks, of course! Winter has hit with a vengence, our busiest time of year. This is not a complaint, far from it, we love being busy. We do try to be prepared, with most of our production done in the warmer months, to free up time in busy bits for sales/admin etc. And more importantly the office is alot more inviting than the workshop in the dead of winter. Australia has copped a bad flu season this year and our house hasn't escaped. The leurgy has been wrecking havoc, bouncing back from one person to another for weeks. So as far as work goes we've been flat out busy but all of us lacking in the drive and stamina we usually have. Everything needed doning has been done but it's been a hard slog. Lucky we were organised. You just never know whats around the corner-sales or otherwise. Anyway Spring is nearly upon us, and we're looking forward to those crisp mornings followed by clear, warm'ish days, into cool nights. Tasmania has beautiful Spring weather. Still needing our warm, woolly Mongrel Socks, without that frigid, creeping cold of Tassie's winter.
Roll on Spring!

The Salamanca Market Community.

Working at home is great, and has some really good points eg going to work in your PJs (if you feel like it), commuting time of 30 seconds, going home for lunch and a load of washing. All good. One of the only downsides to our wool sock making endeavours is the fact that we don’t get out and about (yin/yang) and it’s very easy to go days with out seeing anyone in the flesh except us. That’s why we love the hustle of Hobart's Salamanca Market. Not only is it business, it is also a social thing. Over the years we’ve made many a good friend of the fellow regular (and not so regular) stall holders. At times we see these folk more regularly than family. The feeling of community is a constant for me. I have met some amazing people. Some are like family. Watching children grow up, and friends grow old. Just recently I have benefited from this community spirit, in small but never the less, tangible ways. The other weekend when I had a few teething problems (in the pouring rain) with a new Market Canopy (“Mongrel Sock Kennel”) help came out of the woodwork. My fellow stall holders went out of their way to assist. Same thing again when our car sprang a leak, by the time we got to the market was spewing water every which way. No problem, help was at hand, containers of water given to get us home ok. One even followed us home to see we weren’t caught short. I know these are only small things but having broken down on city streets, with no help offered, people too busy to even notice your difficulty, I appreciate the time/help given to us. I like to think that we do the same, and try to lend a hand/ear when needed, to friends or strangers. I think karma kicks in so you get what you give. Good turns given will come back. One of the things I find myself regularly doing is referring email requests that come to us on the off chance we (being in the Market place) can put buyers in touch with elusive stallholders, who don’t have a web presence. That maybe, we know who it is that makes a certain thingumabob purchased at the Market once upon a time. We do try to put the two together and funnily enough we usually do know the people/product requested. Hopefully what comes around goes around. So……. if your after some thing you purchased at Salamanca Market (especially if it’s warm socks), last week or last year, lost their contact details, feel free to put out feelers, as I said, we’re happy help if we can.

The wait is almost over!

Finally the Possum Wool Sock drought is over (nearly). Our great range of Possum Wool Socks is soon to be replenished. The possum’s plucked, the sheep’s shorn, yarn's spun and landed at the factory door, are being knitted and finished as I write. The yarn we commisioned is 30% Possum Fur and 70% 19 micron superwash Merino Wool. We are very happy to be adding another colour to the range too. These socks are a fine, incredibly warm dress sock. These babies are so good, our Salamanca outlet customers will purchase and put them straight on!