Over the festive season you may have been bought the gift of warm and happy toes, courtesy of our Last-long socks. Back in 2009, we set out to make the most durable and cosy socks, so we thought it a good idea to speak to some people who knew a thing or two about the sock trade. The factory we selected to make our wool socks is based in the sock heartland of the UK – Nottingham, where the factory have been making socks for gentlemen’s leisure and the military since the 1850′s. The company was started by Sarah Bamkin, but was registered under her husband’s name, as back then it was illegal for a woman to own a business. Today the managing director is the great grandson of the ambitious founding female and the two directors are his grandchildren.
The relationship we have with Bamkins is special to us, not least because they’re a family run UK company, but as a result of the skills passed down from generation to generation, combined with our passion for wool, we’ve been able to realise and improve on our idea to craft the warmest and most durable socks. For me the motivation to make a Finisterre product is about enjoying and solving simple problems, whether it be the problem of holey socks, the post-surf change, or the cold and wet weather. But the design problem is only part of the process, as we grow as a brand and as individuals, as we tinker with convention and set out to resolve problems, it’s the relationships with our suppliers and learning from them, that allows the idea to take shape beyond the design bench.
PS: In case we are low on stock on your socks, they went so well at Christmas we’ve got more arriving from the end of the month….remember a sock is not just for Christmas!