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As things cool down, it seems appropriate that socks are the focus for the latest online competition designed to help everyone get through lockdown with a bit of fun and creativity.
The nationwide competition, which begins today, April 16, is being run by Dark Soles, a company that makes bamboo socks.
Natalie Langhorn of Red Beach founded Dark Soles in 2019.
The idea of making socks surfaced when Natalie started drawing to fill in the time while working on a yacht. She describes being at sea for three weeks with little internet service as “a lot like Alert Level 4, but with waves”.
Shortly before that voyage, she had been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Hashimoto Thyroiditis.
“For as long as I can remember I have always been sensitive to the cold but it was the new symptoms of anxiety and depression that eventually made me go to the doctor,” Natalie says.
The doctor took her heart rate, which led to a thyroid test and the diagnosis.
“A lot of things fell into place after being diagnosed,” Natalie says. “It is all too easy to turn to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism. Many people suffering with depression can relate to the feeling of not being good enough – a constant voice eating away at you and holding you back. I wanted to draw but didn’t think I was any good at it, despite having a Bachelor of Design. I started with drawing triangles and at the time I didn’t know where I was going with it, but this was the starting point for what was to become Dark Soles.”
Natalie says she is so grateful that she started using drawing as a creative outlet and, with this in mind, the competition aims to help people think about finding their own creative outlet while in lockdown.
“I want to encourage everyone who is at home feeling the effects of lockdown to get creative by taking a photo wearing their favourite pair of socks and posting it to Instagram with the tag #stayhomesavesoles.
Dark Soles will giveaway a pair of socks every day for eight days, with the idea of getting through the final push of lockdown together.
More info: www.darksoles.co.nz
