Tracey Topp started making merino socks for children 16 years ago. Now her Cosy Toes brand has expanded to adult socks and woollen clothing that has buyers all around the world.
Photo: supplied
Sixteen years ago North Canterbury entrepreneur Tracey Topp had a lightbulb moment. She'd been out shopping for her two young boys.
"I couldn't find any woollen baby socks, there were no wool socks in any of the shops. All I could find were little acrylic or cotton socks imported from China!" she says.
Listen
So she took the plunge.
Tracey found a small knitting mill with a sock making machine suitable for merino yarn.
She ordered in a lot of yarn thinking "if it doesn't work I'll just give them away to my friends!".
Her husband Geoff, who runs a contracting business in Rotherham, shouted her some advertising in a baby's magazine and she hasn't looked back.
Photo: supplied
Now Tracey's Cosy Toes brand has expanded to children's and adult socks as well as other woollen clothing. She now sells all over the world via her online shop.
Tracey was brought up on a sheep farm at Cust and has always been passionate about wool, so she's also started a Facebook page to bring wool people together and to educate people about the versatile fibre.
It's called We Love New Zealand Wool.
"It's a page where people can tell us about their business, or tell us why they love wool, send in their photos, share the nostalgia retell the stories of history, which I think are very important because not everybody knows the stories."
So far about 12,000 people follow the We Love New Zealand Wool page but she is hoping for a lot more.
Photo: RNZ / Cosmo Kentish-Barnes