Mother’s Business Success, Born from Sock Frustration, Recognized with Award Nomination

A mother who established a business creating trousers with integrated socks is “thrilled” to be a contender for a national award. Natalie Hull, 45, from Dowdeswell, near Cheltenham, conceived the idea for Sockatoos in 2016 after her two sons consistently lost their socks. Ms Hull stated, “I looked online for a solution but when I couldn’t find one, I had a lightbulb moment to design my own.” As a stay-at-home mother on a career break, she felt that starting her own business was something she could manage alongside her children. She has now been nominated for a Mother and Baby Award. Ms Hull elaborated: “I don’t know what it was about my two in particular but they constantly kicked off their socks and you’d lose them in the soft play.“Or you’d realise when you got to the till in the supermarket there was a sock missing and you’d have to traipse back to try and find it… or lose it in the car, down the back of the sofa, or the washing machine would swallow it.” She concluded, “So my business idea was based on my own frustrations as a parent.” After developing designs, Ms Hull contacted D2M, a Cheltenham-based company, which assisted her in designing a prototype and locating a manufacturer. She launched the product to market in 2017, making her first sales that year. She further commented, “When you have small children, these things do take time and I wasn’t able to give it the 120% you need to get a business off the ground, so it’s really been a labour of love around the children.” Ms Hull described being nominated alongside major brands for the Innovation of the Year award as “incredible”. The awards ceremony is scheduled for 26 November in London. BBC Gloucestershire can be followed on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Story ideas may be sent via email or WhatsApp to 0800 313 4630. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external websites. Details regarding their external linking policy are available.