Our inspiration for our socks comes from three places: art, performance and family.
The Art: To us, socks aren’t an afterthought. We pick them out like we pick out our shirts, and we want people to notice them just the same. The “206” is for the city we grew up in and the city we love–Seattle. (More cities to come, soon!) The shark mouth is for the people who have fought and sometimes died for our country, such as Grandpa Norberg–more on him later. The designs which we lovingly create are also really important to our son, Julian. He will look at them and say, “What if we did this?” He’s very picky but he always has a good reason.
The Performance: An EM Sock is a fashion statement and an athletic sock. It not only looks good, but also meets performance standards. It’s not going to bunch up on the mountain bike trail, the half-pipe, or the slopes. Having a son who got into skateboarding at the young age of three and into snowboarding at four turned us into a skateboarding/snowboarding family and we know how much clothing performance matters.
The Family: Grandpa Norberg was a swing dancer. And swing dancers were the hipsters of their day. He grew up in Spokane, where his mom ran the first drive-thru in the city. They didn’t have much money, but you would have never known from looking at him and that’s what influenced our slogan, “Because First Impressions Do Matter.” As a teenager, he bought a suit because he didn’t want anyone to know how little money his family had. His poise later benefited from his military career. He always looked presentable. It got him respect in his community and from his friends and family. No matter what interests you, you can do it in a presentable way–the Grandpa Norberg way.
And EM is for Erin and Michael.
Our goal is to have a comfortable sock that’s also artwork for your feet. It’s a sock you notice, but then pay no mind to when you drop into a half-pipe. You’re not worried about them falling down–they’re there.
With love from Michael, Erin, Julian, Lily and Conrad.