There’s certainly no shortage of socks available in all colors and designs, but Collectoe was created to showcase and support international artists in a unique, wearable way.

“Around two years ago, our founder—serial entrepreneur and art lover Assaf Balulu—had the idea to create a brand with a meaning behind it and that does some good,” said Metav Djemal, product manager for Collectoe. “People collect socks and art—so he just put them together.”

In partnership with Eyal Katz and Saar Friedman of creative agency OPEN Tel Aviv, Collectoes scoured online artists’ platforms and Instagram for artists to approach from genres including graphic design, tattoo, graffiti and traditional.

Sales were launched in September 2020 with socks by a curated group of artists—10 now, with more to come—from Israel, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Ireland and Australia.

“We give them the template of the socks and say, ‘Go for it.’ They are all partners in the process,” Djemal said.

“We aren’t the first to bring beautiful art to socks. But while most brands purchase rights to the design, our process is 100 percent collaborative,” she told ISRAEL21c.

“The artists get a percentage of each sale of their design. They have a dashboard connected to our website and a sales program to see how many were sold, what is their bestseller and to keep track of their earnings. I don’t know of other brands that do that.”

The top-selling Collectoe socks currently are from Koketit—aka Israeli artist Shira Barzilay— whose abstract line drawings have a sensual, feminine twist.

I’m thinking I will have to buy some “Pink & Black” socks by In-House Artists for my 10-year-old granddaughter whose wardrobe colors are influenced by K-pop girl band Blackpink. Personally, I’m partial to “Fruits” by Gal Shir.

“The people who have ordered Collectoe socks range in age from 16 to 60,” Djemal said. “Many people bought them for Christmas presents. We had collaborations with [Israeli] companies such as Wix and Amdocs that ordered socks for their employees.”

The socks are manufactured in China and Turkey, and warehoused in Tel Aviv. Price per pair ranges from $10-$18.

“We have international shipping through our website, and we do delivery in Israel,” said Djemal. “Our socks also are available in three stores in Tel Aviv, as well as Canvas Collection on London’s Carnaby Street.”

Djemal said Collectoe plans to launch new designs and sock styles, expand its children’s offerings, and seek out more collaborations.

By Abigail Klein Leichman/Israel21c