In case you didn't know, we just love our local Design-A-Sock contest. Partly because we get to interact with a bunch of talented folk, and also because we end up adding some really fantastic designs to our line of knee highs. Any way you look at it, it's a win-win situation. Fun for us, fun for you. Speaking of winning, here's the dirt on our top three finishers, based on the voting on our facebook fan page. We hope you love the designs as much as we do... after all, you helped choose them!
1st Place: $500 + 10 pairs of socks > Peggy
Peggy won us over when she walked in the door wearing a pair of bird stripe socks, apparently one of many SITM styles in her sock drawer at home. We figure we're at least doubling her collection with TEN new pairs she won alongside the five crisp Benjamins for her winning design:
Peggy works as a graphic designer by day, volunteers in her spare time, and crafts up the wazoo (she's our new inspiration). What's more, she has committed to swapping out her car for her two-wheeler, participating in the city's month-long Bike Commute Challenge. We give her mad props for sticking with the challenge, and we thank her again for her rad, Grand Prize winning submission!
2nd Place: $100 + 5 pairs of socks > Nichole
What you may not know about Nichole's submission is that she hand-painted it before scanning it in and sending our way. She wasn't the only one to submit a design based on free-hand creation, and it was a treat to see the various mediums used by the different artists. Nichole's umbrella design stood out among a few ideas inspired by Portland's rainy temperate.
Nichole works for a nonprofit and squeezes in some time for her blog, Lived Up the Stairs, on the side. Upon receiving her cash prize, she told us she was planning on using the mula to vacation to the Grand Canyon. She was certainly excited to come in to the SITM HQ to receive her prize - especially since the only other time she won something like this was in the first grade when she won a pumpkin coloring contest. Glad we could brighten your day, Nichole!
3rd Place: $50 + 3 pairs of socks > Mattie
Miss Mattie loves illustration, that we know. Without any "formal" training, this talented gal self-taught herself to use Photoshop and other programs to look like a pro (without all of the cost). She's currently working on burlesque bathroom pieces and hails a lot of inspiration from her artist sister. People freaked out about this design during our facebook voting process. And we can't agree more: it's a winner, for sure!
Like Peggy, Mattie is rocking the public transportation and rode on a city bus for an hour and 20 minutes to meet us at the SITM HQ. She picked out a pair of the Mustache socks for her boyfriend, along with the Manatees and Mushrooms for herself. As for the design Mattie submitted... We really hope we can produce it, but there could be some stipulations. Stay tuned; we're waiting for feedback from our printers. (It's kinda like checking in with Ma and Pa, if you know what we mean.)
Again, we here at Sock It to Me send a special "thank you!" to all of the Portland folks who submitted a design or five. It just isn't fun without you!
