Thank you very much for considering THIS NIGHT socks as gifts for your friends and family! If you are looking for other gifts made in America by small businesses, here are some that I really like:

WALLETS & PURSES by OFFCHUTES
I have a wallet and a purse by Barbara of OffChutes (based in Oregon), and I love them! They are beautiful, lightweight, and made of old paragliders and parachutes. 

BONSAI by DANDY FARMER

I have a little tree from Dandy Farmer (based in Brooklyn), which really brings me joy each day. Matt and Paul have created these for people who are not bonsai experts –– the pot, made by a local artist, is designed to hold water well yet drain (so your tree doesn't need to be watered all the time but won't rot), for example. It's been about two years, and my tree is still alive!

THIS NIGHT socks are proudly made in America, of US-grown cotton. They are designed in America (in NY, where I live), they were developed and knit in my hometown mill in Reading, PA, and they are now knit at a wonderful, small, well-run mill in Catawba County, NC.

The picture above was taken in the mill in Reading (before it was closed by its new corporate owners), and it shows my friend and sock genius, Terry. Terry started working in a sock knitting mill when he was 16 and knows all there is to know about socks! He spent about two years working with me to get the composition and feel of THIS NIGHT socks just right. When I first started thinking about designing socks, I thought I would just be providing a surface design, but the owner of the sock mill, who became a mentor to me, asked me what I wanted the socks to be made of. I wasn't expecting to have to think about this, but it ended up being an amazing opportunity to create the sock of my dreams from scratch!

Socks don't seem that complicated, but there are lots of choices to be made: what kind of cotton, the weight of the cotton, the plaiting yarn (what gives socks their resilience), the width of the band, the strength of the elastic in the band (to name a few!). I am very grateful to have been able to get each element of the sock's construction just right before I even thought about the designs.

Much of what remains of the US hosiery industry is in North Carolina –– that's where THIS NIGHT's cotton is spun, where it is custom-dyed, and where THIS NIGHT socks are now knit, and there are generations of talented sock experts there. I'm really grateful that more people are thinking about where and how the things they buy are produced, and I'm so glad it's still possible to make wonderful socks in America!

I voted early last week, and I know a lot of other people have, too, but if you haven't, I hope you will vote today! (NYC polls are open from 6am to 9pm today!)

Well, as you can see, I have been neglecting this blog a bit. I don't think anyone reads it (not even my mom!), but I hope to change that with more frequent posts and hopefully a bit more to say. After a very long hiatus the spring, the Brooklyn Flea is back (at 80 Pearl Street in Dumbo), and I am so very grateful to have my little sock stand back there, too!

I was so happy to see all my fellow Flea vendors when we reopened back in mid-September, and it has been really nice to chat with returning customers and new folks! (I guess anyone reading this might be buying THIS NIGHT socks online, but it is always nice to have an opportunity to check them out in person – you will see that my enthusiasm for socks is unfeigned!) My stand is under the arch of the Manhattan Bridge, so there is the charming rumble of the subway every ten minutes, and I am located next to Louise Goods and Spartan Antiques (mid-century modern furniture) and across from my favorite purveyor of soap, Savannah Hope Studio.

The Flea's last outdoor day was supposed to be this Saturday, Halloween, but now it will be continuing every Saturday from 10am to 5pm as long as there are vendors and shoppers – I hope this continues at least through December!! If you're in the neighborhood, please stop by! :)