Ryley O’Byrne likes to surround herself with beautiful things, particularly clothes or other textile creations.
Though she’s been a Roberts Creeker for most of her life, she studied fashion design at Emily Carr University of Art and Design and also spent time working at a textile studio in Los Angeles. She loved to look for colourful printed sheets and dresses —there were always lots for sale with interesting patterns and floral designs, but she noticed that there was something missing in the marketplace. There were no beautiful socks.
In 2010 she researched and planned her first independent fashion business, Strathcona Stockings, then launched it a year later using Internet media to reach customers.
“It started as a fun hobby project for myself and family and friends,” she said, “.... and then kind of picked up!”
The original colourful designs by O’Byrne on socks and knee-highs have since become a hit around the world. She’s had orders from as far away as Australia and Japan by customers ordering online, and her leg wear has been spotlighted in style periodicals from Italy and Britain. Last May she was featured in Canada’s Chatelaine magazine. Soon, work on the socks became a full-time project. O’Byrne quit her day job and began attending trade shows in New York and Paris.
She’s a big fan of her own work. “I wear them every day,” she told Coast Reporter, showing that day’s pastel pant socks, rolled low.
While some might keep an elegant pair in their drawer to add to a party dress, she points out that they’re suitable for all occasions and reels off the many uses: for dancing, horseback riding and rollerblading too. Made of nylon, some of the socks have reinforced heel and toe for better endurance.
Though they are not manufactured on the Sunshine Coast, the process starts in her Creek studio where she also paints, makes masks, creates costumes and does some film work. She designs her patterns on paper and on the computer. They often involve a photo collage of flowers, fruit (pineapples are popular), birds or leafy cannabis sativa. Sometimes it’s simply an abstract design using pastel paints. The designs are digitally printed onto the textile, making the colours pop. At $36 a pair, they are more expensive than the average sock, reflecting the amount of work that goes into them and the durability of the textile.
Lately she’s branched out to make men’s socks in various collage designs. In one example, a leopard is juxtaposed with an avocado, surely a conversation starter, while other socks show writhing bodies or mushrooms on them — fungi for the fun guy. Tights for kids are also a new item and they display pineapples or flowers and snakes. The latest is socks with shiny metallic thread for party wear.
Customers can order the socks online at www.strathconastockings.com.
Until now she has had no outlets on the Sunshine Coast, but they will soon be available in her neighbourhood, at the Roberts Creek Health Food store.
