Our Story

Since 2008, we’ve been making the world’s best socks.

The Story of Goodhew and Sockwell

The story of Goodhew and Sockwell is a tale of unwavering commitment to making the highest quality products that help people feel better in style. At Sockwell, we believe in sustainable sourcing, modern design, continually investing in technology to improve fit and performance, and supporting the needs of our community and customers.

Sockwell was launched in 2011 by Goodhew, LLC, which was founded in 2008 by Thomas Lee and Jim Markley, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Goodhew paired Jim’s three decades of sports apparel experience with Thomas’ extensive background in hosiery manufacturing and fabrication.

Jim and Thomas first met in the mid-1990’s, and over the next 13 years the two remained in touch. Their paths re converged in 2007, when they developed the idea for Goodhew based on the need for a new premium lifestyle performance sock line. The socks would be made from custom yarns featuring naturally biodegradable, naturally thermoregulating North American merino wool, and they would be made exclusively in the USA.

In August 2010, Jim and Thomas connected with Mercedes Marchand, who both had known previously from the sock industry. Mercedes and Jim had worked together at Smartwool where she was instrumental in helping develop the Smartwool lifestyle sock collection that acted as a catalyst for substantial growth during her tenure with the company. Mercedes had recently left Smartwool and was developing a concept for a therapeutic, solution-based collection of socks elevated by design and color, which would soon become Sockwell. With her lifelong passion for wellness, keen eye for design, and extensive experience in socks and hosiery, it was clear to Jim and Thomas that Mercedes would be an invaluable addition to the Goodhew team, and in late 2010 Mercedes came on board. In September 2011, the company shipped their first Sockwell product.

In 2017, in an effort to streamline the brand story, all Goodhew products were rolled into the Sockwell brand as Sockwell Essentials, and the rest, as they say, is history.

In 2018, Sockwell debuted a new logo, a soothing color palette, and an optimistic, helpful brand voice to ensure our brand identity is in alignment with our mission to help people feel better in style.