It has been way too hot in the islands for many of us to contemplate wearing socks, but it is not too early to think about shopping for Christmas, especially if you have far-flung family members on your gift list.
Sock Mafia Hawaii got its start when Lexi Delovio showed her basketball coach a pair of socks she ordered online that cost $35. Once Scott Cambra, the coach, was done being stunned at the price, he had an idea.
"I think I can do that … way cheaper," Cambra said.
He was familiar with direct-to-garment printing, but his "canvas" now was to be socks, not T-shirts or other smooth fabric.
"I did a test run, made a couple samples," and after a process of wearing them and washing them to make sure the printing would last, Cambra started marketing his socks about a year ago.
His colorful printed socks start at $15.
"I know for a fact I’m the only guy in Hawaii that does direct-to-garment" printing on socks, he said.
He started off with primarily basketball-related designs but then got into Hawaiiana-themed designs, "and the Hawaiian-based ones have been steady sellers throughout the last six months."
Designs include the Hawaiian flag, the kanaka maoli flag, floral designs, palm trees, beaches, hula dancers and others. They are primarily inspired by Cambra’s wife, Christine, and his daughters, Kelana and Kaile, but inspiration also comes from members of the Islanderz Basketball Club, for which Cambra serves as coach.
Tribal designs allow wearers to have an "inked" look without the sting of a needle, and designs come not just in the expected black, but also in pink, red and combinations including red and black, red and yellow, and blue and yellow.
Not everybody’s into tribal or Hawaiiana looks, so the company also offers camouflage prints, celestial-inspired designs — one of which is called Deep Space 9 — and a psychedelic print named Lindz 23.
The company’s products have proved popular.
Cambra’s been a vendor at big community events such as the Made in Hawaii Festival, and through word of mouth and promotion via social media, he has shipped his printed-in-Hawaii socks across all 50 states, up to Canada and as far away as Samoa and England, he said.
His older daughter represented the company at a recent Hawaii festival at an Uwajimaya store in Oregon, as well as at the Aloha Seattle Festival.
"She sold out" at the latter event, Cambra said.
All his socks bear a "swoosh" because his sock supplier is Nike, a decision based on customer testing and quality of wear, Cambra said.
Sock Mafia Hawaii also offers custom work, with a short turnaround time in most cases.
Custom work is priced on a case-by-case basis, beginning with a $25 flat fee for design manipulation.
"The crews and knee-highs are our best-sellers," which stands to reason, as shorter socks don’t provide much real estate for designs. Cambra also can print on more upscale versions of Nike socks.
"We’ve done (socks for) entire football teams and baseball teams in one week to two weeks," he said.
In some cases the socks have had a tribal print with a team logo in the front and the players’ numbers on the back, but it’s not just about sports teams.
"We’ve done wedding socks, with the groom on one side … and the bride on the other. We’ve done birthday socks with kids’ pictures," he said.
Because he can be nimble and topical with his designs, Cambra created a Storm Tracker design and made a donation to a nonprofit helping Hawaii island residents with Hurricane Iselle recovery efforts.
SOCK MAFIA HAWAII
sockmafiahi@aol.com
sockmafiahawaii.bigcartel.com
WHERE TO BUY:
>> J.R.’s Caps & Embroidery, 320 Ward Ave. No. 116
>> Get Nutz Wear, 945 Kamehameha Highway No. 11
>> Aloha Stop and Shop, Anchorage, Alaska
>> Season’s Best Craft and Gift Fair Extravaganza, Oct. 24-26, Blaisdell Exhibition Hall
“Buy Local” runs on Aloha Fridays. Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
