Recently I ran into Lauren Legakis, who runs SockShop on Haight Street and we chatted about socks, holidays, and creativity on Haight Street today. I admire her a lot as one of the many Haight Street Merchants taking on being a small business owner as well as being a mom. Here’s what I learned:
Kenna: How long have you been running SockShop on Haight?
Lauren: “I worked for the original owners of SockShop for 12 years, so I was with the company when they first opened their Haight Street location in 2009. They’re based in Santa Cruz but I live in San Francisco, so when they decided to sell their remote location I jumped at the opportunity. I purchased the store from them in 2018 and haven’t looked back.”
K: How did you get into it? What did you do before you started selling socks?
L: I started selling socks and shoes part-time at the Santa Cruz location of SockShop and Shoe Company when I was 19 and a college student at UCSC. The SockShop is an institution in Santa Cruz, opened by Ellen and Eric Gil in 1988. The beauty of thriving local business is that it presents so much opportunity for young people to learn and grow, and the Gil’s taught me everything I know about running great retail stores, and became like family. I worked my way up at the company, as Buyer, then Manager of the Santa Cruz location, General Manager of all 5 of their locations, and finally Director of Operations for their wholesale sock company SockSmith. So to answer your question, I’ve never really done anything except sell socks!
K: Why a sock store?
L: “Sock stores are such an accessible bit of joy. For a low price you can get something you love, whether it’s a gorgeous color, super soft material, or funny novelty print that’s perfectly tailored to you. There’s something for everyone!”
K: Why Haight Street?
L: We love being in the Haight because not only do you have the unique quirky counterculture spirit, which you can represent through unique quirky socks, but we get to meet tourists from all over the world. There’s no bigger joy for me than seeing someone from another country who may not speak english, walk into the shop and see so many fun colorful socks and get a huge grin on their face. Fun socks are universal, something everyone can connect over!
K: What is your favorite kind of sock?
L: I’m a sucker for a good floral print. But I have too many amazing pairs to pick a favorite. It’s like asking my favorite child!
I think that the reputation of socks as terrible gifts came from an earlier era where you’d get boring white tube socks in your stocking at Christmas, but today’s socks are so much more fun and personalizable than that. Our busiest time of the year by far is during the holidays because socks make the best gifts! They tend to be one size fits most and you can completely customize them to your loved ones personality or interests. So whether they are a fashion person who wants something stylish, a silly person, or a sporty person who wants a more technical sock, we’ve got the perfect thing.
K: What makes a good gift in your opinion?
L: Something really tailored to the person. Do they love books? Pugs? Yoga? Hiking? We’ve got a sock for them!
K: People make jokes about socks as a gift but in your opinion what makes something useful like a sock into really a special gift? (the pattern the color something else about it?)
L: We do have a really funny pair of socks that have an image of one lonely sock sitting on some stairs with a frowny face with the writing “worst gift ever” written above!
K: Do you have a type of sock you recommend for everyone or maybe you find yourself giving it as a gift often?
L: My favorite new gift for my friends, or my son’s preschool teachers, is to pair Baggu socks with one of their reusable shopping bags. They’re cool, offer great prints and quality, and are an SF based brand!
K: How many different types/ lines/ colors of socks do you have in store?
L: We have over 2,000 individual styles in the shop from over 50 brands. We sell tons of styles through our website, but if you want the full impact of our giant selection I highly recommend coming to the store to see for yourself.
K: Do you have a favorite haight street memory?
L: It was so fun when Patton Oswalt came into the shop with his wife. He was incredibly kind and funny (of course) and he bought a ton of socks, working closely with our buyer Konner to pick the perfect pairs.
K: How are the Grateful Dead important to you?
L: I personally have loved the Grateful Dead’s music since I was a teenager, so the fact that The Dead are in the DNA of the Haight feels really kismet to me.
K: After someone visits SockShop, where is somewhere you think they absolutely shouldn’t miss in the neighborhood?
L: The Venn Diagram of sock people and book people is basically a circle, so I would recommend they go to Booksmith across the street!
K: Being a mama and owning a shop in the Haight, what qualities of the Haight do you hope inspire her? And also, what are the challenges/joys of being a mom and a business woman?
L: I love being a mom and owning my own business. I get to raise these little city kids with a community of wonderful long-term employees and other merchants that they’ll grow up knowing and loving. They come to the shop with me often and meet happy people from all over the world. It also gives me a really unique opportunity to have my kids see me do work that I love and that they get to be a part of. I’ve been able to be with them while they’re little and have a lot of flexibility with my work, which most parents aren’t lucky enough to get. I hope they take from the culture of the Haight, as well as my amazing staff, that celebrating their unique spirit is beautiful, no matter what that looks like! The Haight has always prized individuality in a really beautiful way that I hope gets imparted on my children.
K: What is your favorite creative sock design right now? (also if you have a picture that is awesome)
L: I’m loving the new season by the sheer sock brand Sock Candy. They make beautiful, creative and colorful socks on a sheer background so they’re really unique and pop on the leg. They recently did a sock collaborations with Wicked and the designs turned out really great! (see attached pic)
K: In your time with the SockShop, have fun socks helped you be more creative?
L: Running the shop has definitely helped me to work my creative muscles. My work is so varied from day to day, but always includes something visual and a lot of creative communication. Socks are also so silly, that the job has allowed me to not take things too seriously and play at work. That’s a great recipe for letting the creativity flow.
K: Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your window displays? They are always so fun and whimsical! What goes into putting one together?
We have amazingly creative employees who create our beautiful displays, from concept to execution. Right now a long term employee named Sophie does the window displays, and she’s great at it! I love how fun the themes she picks for the windows are, and they really embody the sockshop spirit.
K: Do you have any favorite art in the neighborhood?
L: I love the psychedelic colorful building that Love on Haight is in! It’s the epitome of Haight Street.
K: Are any of your staff local Haight Street artists that would like to be highlighted as part of the creative Haight community?
L: Our amazing display wizard, Sophie, is lil_soffty on instagram.
K: What do you want to see more of on Haight Street?
L: I love that as a merchant community, we’re getting more into planning community events for the whole street, like Haight Street Daydream and other celebrations. I want to keep that energy going! This is such a fun street and it should be celebrated!
