APRICITY

 

A NEW COLLECTION - DROPPING SOON...

 

MORNING ROUTINES WITH MATTEO

 

HI

I figured it's about time I introduced myself in internet land. Something that makes me nervous for some reason!

This is me, Andrew, the Andrew that writes the thank you notes and fulfils your orders, designs the products and manages production, website, socials, photos, videos etc, and talks with our amazing stockists. I'm also the one you'll see at our stall at various markets.
👋
As a small business owner I find it difficult to say what my 'job' is, as it tends to change from day to day, and most of the time I feel like I am barely keeping my shit together.

But I do love it and am very grateful to be able to do it all.

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and thank you all so much for supporting and following the brand's journey. Without you guys, and most importantly my wife Melanie's support, this dream wouldn't be possible.
Big ❤ 

Andrew

 

COUNTRY AS TEACHER

We have always been passionate about giving back to our community whenever we can.  Which, as a small brand, can be tricky.  We wanted to work with something close to home where we could see the results for ourself.

When we called our friend, native Bundjalung woman, Delta Kay and learned that she was starting a not-for-profit, we knew it was the right fit.

Delta along with Kris Cook, Nickolla Clark, Michelle Lowe, Melissa Ladkin, Dean Lindsay and Mia Thom run 'Country As Teacher', a not-for-profit cultural curriculum held by Bundjalung educators to learn from and directly with Jogun (Country).  Jogun holds an eternal body of knowledge and stories, their purpose is to share and learn together through the wisdom of their elders for the wellbeing of Country and Community.

We donate 50% of the profit from our FIRST socks to Country As Teacher.

As a small brand, our contribution is modest, but hopefully we can spread the word and attract some bigger brands, with proper budgets, to help these legends educate our children and future generations in how to properly care for Country and Community.

Get a pair HERE.

If you would like to know more about their work, or you would like to support them please click HERE.

 

RED BELLIED BLACK

THANK YOU 2023

Thanks for all the support in 2023.  Our customers, family, friends, stockists, freight partners and anyone who gives feedback, leaves reviews or simply shares a social post.  We love ya!

We don't have any corporate backing, or investors.  Nobody tells us what to do, and nobody funds this little business, other than the sales from the products we make.  So thank you for keeping this dream alive!

HOTA - HOME OF THE ARTS

We are beyond stoked to be hanging in the amazing HOTA, the iconic Gold Coast destination where art, entertainment, culture and lifestyle meet.

A bit of a 'life-goal' for us!

Check out the latest exhibition at HOTA, running all summer.....

FAIR GO 2023

Always a pleasure to sponsor Australia's longest running skate comp, FAIR GO.  Organised by the kindest and gnarliest independent skateshop in the country TRUCKSTOP.  Get down to Ballina and check it out October 14th, Ballina skatepark.

 

 

BANNED FROM THE NORTHERN

As they say, 'If you know, you know'.

Our best-selling cap is now restocked in 2 colours.  Lightweight, 5 panel, unstructured goodness to shade your beautiful face.  Cheers to Byron's best live music venue The Northern!

Get one here.

DUNCAN EWINGTON

So stoked to welcome Duncan to our little family of friends/ambassadors/test pilots.  A gentleman, great skater, art lover and a true ambassador of Australian skateboarding.  Always hitting the streets and finding rad new spots and documenting it.  Follow Duncan here.

 

 

NEW COLLABS ONLINE NOW

It takes a bit of back-n-forth to finish a collaboration, but we love the process of meeting other creatives and seeing the end result of products that everyone is happy with.  So we are stoked to get 3 over the line at the one time!

First up, HUTT LAGOON.  It was a pleasure to look through photographer Ines Goret's incredible images to find something truly unique.  The image we used was a striking aerial image of Hutt Lagoon, one of Western Australia's stunning pink lakes.  The hue of the water, the shadows of the rocks, road markings and the sand dunes made the most epic 'stripe' style sock.  Possibly our favourite sock to date.

Get some here.

If you don't know The Wildlife Twins, they are a couple of legends.  Bridget and Sophie run wildlife shows around the country. Educational talks featuring a huge range of native species, snakes, dingos, magpies, lizards, and definitely the cutest, Barty, their young Wombat.  We love the work that these girls do, so when they invited us to their place to chat about merch (and see all the animals) we jumped straight in the car!

The sock features an image of Barty himself, with a background of eucalyptus leaves and tree trunk which we photographed near Tallow Creek.

Ooroo Barty.  Get some here.

'Oi'.  You know it?  In Japanese, 'Oi' is an informal way of saying 'hey'.  It is also the name of the best Izakaya in Australia.  Located in Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast.  Izakayas are traditionally places to hang out after work, not just amazing Japanese food, but a place to settle in, have some drinks, some snacks and a hell time.  Our kind of place!

Owner Stephen was a pleasure to work with, already a fan of our socks, we made a 'rising-sun' inspired painting, sent him a photo and got a thumbs up.  We added their logo and the Burleigh postcode, and they are now selling them in their restaurant. 

Get them online here or at Oi Izakaya itself! 

 

HIGH STANDARDS

OUR VENTURE INTO HEMP

These look pretty straightforward, but our High Standards socks took a LOT of work!  Finding the right manufacturer was not easy, we needed the correct certifications on working conditions, wages, and properly certified fabric producers before we could even start.  Then the testing phase, where we had to get the right ratio of Organic Hemp and Organic Cotton to ensure we had the most durable but also most comfortable socks possible.  All whilst making the most environmentally sustainable product possible.

And we reckon we nailed it!  Socks that look and feel great right away, but also take a good beating and get softer the more you wear them!

Due to customer feedback (and personal needs) we have been wanting to make some neutral colour (plainer) socks for a while.  For those times when you want to wear quality socks but don't want them to be the main focus of your outfit.  So we thought it was a good time to investigate the incredible material Hemp and make a 2 pair pack of Natural colour socks and Black socks.  Sure, we've got a Hemp leaf on there, but through our dedication to ensure the quality of the product, we hope we can overcome any 'stigma' around the weed leaf, and push the symbol of the most sustainable natural fibre on Earth.

Click here to get some.

And click here to learn more about the GOTS fabric Certification.

Photo of @tonychavez by @graygrayz at @truckstop

 

TRADIE APPROVED!

We bumped into Billy from On-Right Signage Installs last week, on the job in Byron, he's got quite a few pairs of our socks and reckons...
'they're me go-to socks, if they're tough enough for the skaters, they're tough enough for a day up ladders and scaffolding in 30 degree heat!' ✅

On ya Billy! Time for smoko and a choccy milk! 🙌

 

FAMILY VALUES #1- ROISIN

A quick catch up and micro-surf with good friend, ambassador, chef and all round good gal, the style queen of Byron Bay, Roisin Carolan. We learn how to pronounce her Irish name, drop-in's at The Pass, and a bit more. The first of a series of Family Values videos? Let's see.

 

SOME SUBSCRIBER LOVE

Hey subscribers, thanks for subscribing!  We set up a 'subscriber-only' end of summer sale for all you wonderful people.  20% off everything!  Ends Wednesday 8th of March at midnight.  Get in there and treat yourself, you deserve it!

Check your emails (and maybe your junk folder), you'll have your own discount code in there, just add the code at checkout.

Too easy

Remember, FREE EXPRESS SHIPPING for all domestic orders over $100.

 

 

YAEGL COUNTRY!

During a recent family camping holiday to Wooli, we went to Minnie Water for the day, our first time there.  And ended up in the best (and only) place to be in town.  The Minnie Water General Store.  It's epic, and run by the nicest crew.  Everything you might need is under one roof, great clothing and accessories brands, surfboards, bottleshop, really good coffee and food, and petrol!

We got chatting to the owner Rob who said he'd love to check out what we do.  Luckily our old caravan is always stocked with a bunch of socks so we can fulfill online orders when we're on the road, so the next day we brought round some socks.  They were really into it, a couple of handshakes, high fives and coffees later, and Minnie Water General Store is now well stocked with Mennie socks.

A fine collection in a fine store

Slow paced Minnie Water

Mennie loves Minnie

A magical part of the world, can't wait until our next trip!

 

THE 'THIRSTY' DEATH COLLECTIVE COLLABORATION WAS A BEAUTIFUL CLUSTERF*#K

Our close friends will know we have been chatting about this for ages!

Max, the owner and founder of the Gold Coast's finest motorcycle lifestyle brand DEATH COLLECTIVE got in touch a couple of years ago, wanting to make a DEATH sock together.  As huge fans of his brand we were frothing to work with him.  And after a few meetings, designs were ready, everything had been sampled, tested, and scrutinised by Max's sharp eye and almost ruthless attention to detail and standards.  All good.  Launch date set for late October or early November 2021!

Yes 2021, over a year ago.  Just in time for Christmas orders and to get stockists hooked up.

September 2021 comes and we're expecting tracking information for our trusted manufacturer.   SILENCE.

October comes and goes. SILENCE.

Max tells us he has already sold most of his 'incoming' socks.

We can't get any response from the manufacturer, emails, phonecalls, emails, messages, emails, emails, emails.  SILENCE.

We tell Max that we 'kooked it and don't know what's happening.  He is obviously not very impressed but laughs it off, as he is well-versed in 'problems' arising in this industry.

December 2021, finally, contact from the manufacturers, with news that the factory had been forced to close due to Covid restrictions, but were now back on track. PHEW.

Okay, here we go, better late than never.  Tracking info is coming through. The DEATH socks along with a bunch of our other designs are on the way.  ETA February 2022.  All good.

 

Late February, tracking update, socks are in Sydney.

On the 28th of February, Lismore and a lot of the surrounding areas experienced the worst flooding in recorded Australian history.  Our local areas were devastated.  Our focus shifted to the disaster all around us, socks and business were an afterthought, as we drove to remote communities to deliver food and help clean sewage and mud from peoples houses.  

After the floodwaters had resided, heartbroken from the devastation and loss we had witnessed, we again checked the tracking.  Half of our order (including the DEATH socks) had left Sydney and arrived in Lismore on the morning of the biggest flood in recorded history.

Call the warehouse.  SILENCE

Call the freight company. "yes your shipment is in Lismore"

Call the warehouse.  SILENCE

Drive to the warehouse with tears in our eyes, through endless streets of upside down cars, houses gone or 'inside-out', the stench of sewage and mud and mould in the summer heat, but the incredible sense of resilience and strength of a community overpowered everything.  

Alas, we lost a bunch of socks. A minuscule loss in the bigger picture, but still a loss.  The warehouse was under water and sewage for 2 days and the bulldozers ripped everything out to try to start the mammoth clean up of an entire city.

We dug out a few pairs, but they were pretty trashed. 

We make the best quality socks we can, so that they perform and last longer than the cheap ones.  Unfortunately, a bunch went straight to landfill, without anyone ever putting them on.  Tragic.

We told Max what had happened, he too had spent the previous week helping clean up some of the flood destruction in Murwillumbah, and I think we both agreed 'it could have been worse'.

The flood disaster is ongoing and is a huge problem for thousands of misplaced families in the region. But we all just push on with the support of each other, through the tragic shit that life gives us at times. This kind of solidarity and DIY ethos we believe is at the core of both MENNIE and DEATH COLLECTIVE. 

If you are in a position to help this region and it's beautiful people, please click here. And be as generous as you can. X

This week, we were finally able to get the THIRSTY sock out there to you.  It was a bumpy road but we got there.  Thanks for your patience and the support!

 

JINGI WALLA SUMMER

Summer slid into town in style this year.  Here are some photos we got of the swell last weekend.

 

LIT

A new collab with a great friend of ours, Finbar Laverty AKA Goujy.  So much fun with the Berlin based skateboarder/hand-poked tattoo artist making this design come to life!  We initially chatted about that little image on the back of matchboxes, you know the one, the stickman kid with his arm on fire.

Anyway, Finbar swapped his needle for a Sharpie and created this rad piece for us. Flames, skulls, matches, Molotov Cocktails, BOOM!............  LIT

Check out Finbar's work HERE

And get his sock HERE

FWNW

FIGHT WAR NOT WARS.  Inspired by the global problems this year and the punk band Crass.  Spray paint, stencils and paint pen over the top of the ASYM design.  Get them here.

ASYM

The first sock from our new capsule.  An asymmetrical paint design originally made on a plywood board.  Classic B&W design with a twist.  Get them here.

 

STONE & WOOD BREWERY OPEN DAY 2022

We had an amazing day at this years brewery open day in Murwillumbah, thanks so much to Stone & Wood for having us. They raised over $15,000 for Wedgetail Retreat!!!!!  It was epic to be so well looked after and to connect with the community.  Cheers legends! We owe you a few!

Photos by us and Red Stockholm.

 

WATTLE

FAIR GO 2022

We were stoked to again sponsor this years Fair Go skate comp in Ballina, one of the biggest comps of the year in the country.  The legends at Truckstop Skateshop always go above and beyond, and this year was epic.  Well done on another great event!  See you next time.

GABUL / CARPET PYTHON PROCESS

A little look at the process of making this sssssick snake sock.  Hand drawn, hand cut two layer carpet python stencil with spray paint.  The result is great and we love how you can see the little imperfections and paint overspray in the finished sock.  Get yours here.

 

THIS IS A PLACE FOR LOVERS

Our latest capsule is online NOW.  Click here to grab some.  And here to check out the entire Gold Collection.  We added a cap to the new capsule as well, an unstructured, low profile, 5 panel cap with original 'Lovers' embroidery.

CARPET PYTHON

PIGFACE

WATTLE

LOVERS CAP

KANGAROO / GURUMAN

PEONY TIGER - BY MIKEY DEVITA

 

THIS FRIDAY 08/04/22

An abundance of Covid and flood related problems have hindered our progress for the last 2 years, and we are finally back on track!
Our new capsule 'This is a place for lovers' is the first addition to our Gold Collection; New artwork, collaborations, and the premium quality fit and feel you expect with the Gold range.
Online this Friday...

 

A MASSIVE NEW PIECE BY TEAZER

An epic new wall lit up by our friend and ambassador 'Teazer'.  We love his work, his style, his positive attitude, and we have loved working with him on some of our favourite sock designs over the last few years.  Read Teazer's words on the meaning of this site to him below.....

"Stoked to celebrate 10 years of history painting this site. I first painted it solo, non permission in 2012 when the industrial estate was like a ghost town on weekends. This is how I got 90% of the walls I’ve painted in Byron. Chuck on a high vis, some witches hats and hope for the best.  I’ve even had cops pull up and say keep up the good work. I then painted this spot with some legends over the years including visitors from overseas, resulting in a lot of laughs, close encounters with brown snakes, pizza and sunstroke. All of the big murals are gone now, and the owner of the new building found me and asked me to revive the remaining wall. After a hospital visit from almost severing my finger, and overspraying a mates car, I am pretty happy with the end result, which is rare for me. Thoughts of cam’ron in his pink mink coat did come to mind. According to the era I grew up in and the writers I looked up to... Pink is gangster." - TEAZER.

 

 

25/01/22 - A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Today, the federal government of Australia bought the rights to the Aboriginal Flag, a piece of artwork designed 50 years ago by Harold Thomas, for 20 million dollars.  The commonwealth has now given permission for anyone to use the flag, previously use of the image was copyright owned by a few (non-indigenous) companies.  This freedom for the Aboriginal community to be 'allowed' to use their symbol, definitely tastes a little bittersweet, as the permission comes from the people who took so much from them.

Hi, my name is Andrew, I started Mennie Brand in 2016.  And I want to share why I think I have feelings about this topic.  I was born in Belfast and grew up in Northern Ireland, pretty much as far from Australia as possible.  The traditional team sports in Ireland never really interested me, somehow I got in to surfing, art and skateboarding at a young age.  Through surf culture in the 90's I watched the Jack McCoy film Bunyip Dreaming, it blew my mind and I got really interested in Aboriginal art and music and the 'Aussie surf lifestyle'.  It felt like another planet altogether.  For my final high school art project I studied Aboriginal art, made a few paintings and a sculpture of a surfboard from polystyrene, with a traditional aboriginal style dot-painting across it. (Quite inappropriate I know now!).

Bunyip Dreaming. Jack McCoy. 1990.

I first came to Australia in 2004, and moved here permanently not long after with my beautiful wife Melanie.  Where we are from in Northern Ireland, flags are a thing we grew up with, the Irish flag, the Union Jack (UK) flag, and a bunch of other gang/organisation flags which generally tie to one of the previous two.  I never felt any connection to any of them. I'm not sure why.

So when I started making socks in our garage on Lawson Street, Byron Bay in 2016, one of my first designs was in the style of the Aboriginal flag.  I really wanted to pay respect to the country but the 'anti-flag' part of me wasn't sure. Until I spoke to some of the Aboriginal community, who encouraged me to give it a crack and make something nice.  I was also told to expect a Cease & Desist letter in the mail.  As of today, that mail isn't coming.

 

In 2018 at our Bangalow Market stall, a very nice lady bought a pair of these 'Arakwal' socks. Bronwyn Bancroft, the super talented indigenous painter. 

The next day I was making socks in our garage and her son Jack calls me, he begins to introduce himself and explain what the organisation he runs does, but I was already a huge fan and had been following A.I.M.E. (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience) for years.  So I was blown away when he asked if we could collaborate and make some socks.  AIME uses a mentoring program to support indigenous students to complete high school and transition into university, further education or employment at the same rate as every Australian child, effectively closing the gap on educational outcomes.  They are legends! 

So Jack's team sent through amazing artwork from some of their students, and we made socks.  Featuring incredible artwork from Ella Gillespie and Ruby-Rose Bancroft.  I made them all (hand pressed/dyed/printed/labelled), around 300 pairs in our garage, AIME took them for cost price, and sold them, putting 100% of the profits straight into their program.  Happy days!

Since our first 'Arakwal' sock and our AIME collaboration socks, we have continued to try to spread a good message about this culture, which we believe deserves more shine and respect.  Our latest 'FIRST' sock is a spray-paint/graffiti version of the original, and we have a new range coming very soon, always paying respect and hopefully giving back to the land we are lucky to call home.  If you want to do something great together, please get in touch.

Thanks for reading.  Andrew.

Bronwyn and I, Lone Goat Gallery. 2018

Hanging with Bronwyn in her studio.  Byron Bay.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It has been a challenging couple of years for the whole world.  We are hoping 2022 will be a much better one for everyone!  Here's a few shots we took of the first swell of the year thanks to Cyclone Seth.

 

GOODBYE WINTER

A camera phone image from one of the last days of winter in lockdown at one of our local pointbreaks.  Excited for an end to lockdown and an even better spring...

A LOCAL FATHER'S DAY PACKAGE

The legends at The Macadamia Castle have put together a special package for your Ol' man this year.  Park access, mini-golf, beer from Seven Mile Brewery, socks from us, and of course, Macadamia nuts!  Hit the link to their website to book now.

 

GOOD NEWS

We're now sending your Australian orders in Biodegradable reusable bags with MailPlus.  Every package gets sent EXPRESS, and we've already had orders from Perth WA (over 4000k's away) be delivered within 24 hours of orders being placed!  Loving these guys and their service.  Good for us, good for you, good for our world.

JUMPING TREES

Jonny Hippy-Jumping Palm Trees recently in Sydney

SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE NATIVES

YUTA TERAYA X MENNIE

A super fun collaboration with Japanese artist and surfer Yuta Teraya based in Yokohama, Japan.  Yuta custom painted this Lorikeet piece for the socks.  The detail is epic and works perfectly with Yuta's style of art, you can even see the texture of the canvas behind the paint.  Such a fun project to see finished.  Now available from us and Dead Kooks Shonan. 

THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!

Thanks to everyone for their Google reviews, DM's and face-to-face feedback.  It keeps us motivated, but more importantly, it helps us make our products better.  Keep them coming please.

 

FOK & STUFF

You can now find our socks in the beautiful @fokandstuff store in Byron Bay, amongst a stylishly curated selection of home wares, gifts, fashion and accessories. If you're looking for unique gifts, you won't leave here empty handed.

 

CRT DESIGNS X MENNIE

Our latest collaboration with Gold Coast artist CRT Designs, as part of her feature exhibition at Forge Forward, Brisbane running all this month. We love Courtenay's work and her complete take-over of the Forge space looks amazing.  Her artwork, design and fashion is a truly unique blend of thought provoking nostalgia, romance, tragedy, and good vibes.
Our socks are just a small part of the exhibition, heaps of other rad stuff will be available at the Launch Party this Saturday night.
📍709 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.

HOLY MOLY!

NSW, WA, VIC, QLD !
A big moment for us. Our socks are now stocked in all 9 of the wonderful Pigeonhole stores across Australia!
Pigeonhole began in 2007 as a tiny independent shop in an old Perth arcade. Since then, founder Johann (Big Bird) and his team of Pigeons have opened beautiful stores across the country, always staying true to Johann's vision:
'To inspire human connection. To create and curate products that inspire joy and community, and create lasting memories between loved ones.'
And we could not be more excited to join the family.
Thank you Johann, Genevieve, Lucy and the rest of the Pigeon family.

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

An impromptu 2 minute photo shoot with cardboard cut-out horns, sticky taped onto a beanie.  Featuring our FIRST sock and our friend Matteo.

 

DOUMO ARIGATOU JAPAN

Buzzing to see our Gold Collection hanging in the beautiful Dead Kooks Shonan Store!  Eiji and his team are true frothers and true Lords and Ladies.

PROCESS

The original painting used for the Motley sock...

 

A PEEK INSIDE PT.2

Another look into our new studio/office/workspace.  This time showing this amazing, one-off mixed media piece by Lismore artist Jeremy Austin.  We love Austin's work and collaborated on some 'Bat Socks' a couple of years ago.  We never saw this piece in real life but fell in love with it after seeing a shot of it at an exhibition on his website.  Assuming it had already sold, we asked Jeremy if we could print a photo of it to hang on our wall.  We were blown away to hear that it was still hanging in a friend's studio and still for sale!  Definitely the raddest original piece of art we own. Aptly named 'Pressure Flip To Wallride'.  Even more special knowing that Jeremy often fills old fire extinguishers with paint and sprays them on walls and canvasses to create his art.  Proud to own it and live with it every day!

The very Fabulous Mrs Fox

If you have been to Brunswick Heads, there are pretty much 4 places you will remember...... The Bruns Hotel (pub), Torakina Beach, The Bakery, and the Fabulous Mrs Fox store.  The first 3 deliver exactly what you would expect.  Fabulous Mrs Fox however, is the most amazingly curated store, ever changing with the most unique collection of homewares, fashion, jewellery and furniture.  We are so stoked to have our socks in there.  Thanks Parri for inviting us to your magical place!

YEAH WILKO!

One of the worlds best and most innovative surfers, Matt Wilkinson, has just joined our small family of ambassadors.  And we couldn't be happier.  Most importantly, Wilko's surfing is incredible, those willy-nilly rodeos??  While we're still trying to ride out of chop-hops!  Also, he has been a breath of light-hearted fresh air to the increasingly jock-like athleticism of the pro surfing world.  Who doesn't love Wilko?

SNOW SEASON IN AUSTRALIA?!

 Photographer Reily Tong just had a weekend snowboarding in the Perisher Valley.  He took some of our Gold Collection socks with him and gave them a good test in the snow.  Results were great!  It was sick to get good feedback from this collection in extreme conditions.  Although we didn't specifically make this range for the snow, the added arch support, cushioning and ribbing 'make a super comfy, warm and dry sock for a day shredding in the snow'.  Stoked!  And thanks for the pics Reily!

A PEEK INSIDE pt.1

We recently moved!  And decorating our new workspace has been a whole lot easier with friends like Davey Mac (aka Teazer).  'Elizabeth' here from his Stay Gold exhibition which we made some limited edition socks for.  We actually had the pleasure of being in his studio watching this and a couple of other amazing pieces being created for the show.  Thanks brother!  Loving having this on our wall where we work.

DIY FACE MASKS

Get your old socks out for some quick DIY face masks..

PRINT LOOKBOOKS DONE

So stoked with how our new Gold Collection lookbook turned out.  Props to Vinh Nguyen and Greg Wallace for help with the design and layout, and to Mindy at The Petri Dish for the epic speed and quality printing! 

 

YARD SALE

04/06/20 - We are having a yard sale/garage sale/pop-up this Sunday.  In the midst of the madness and sadness of the world right now, we are trying to stay positive and keep moving forward.  You can find us opposite the Beach Cafe/Clarkes Beach Carpark at 70 Lawson Street, Byron Bay.  Discounts on everything, social distancing rules apply, sanitiser before entry and contactless payment only.  Thanks legends!

 

01/06/20

GOLD COLLECTION VIDEO

07/05/20 - Filmed by us, music by And So I Watch You From Afar.  Thanks to our friends who helped make this vid, love you all!

29/03/20

UNCERTAINTY - SO WE TRY TO CONTINUE

19/03/20 - What better time than now.  We just dropped off another bunch of socks to the legends at the Liberation Larder, feeding and helping anyone in need in the community.

OUR WORLD JUST CHANGED

17/03/20 - Uncertainty.  Yes we are scared...

GOLD COLLECTION ONLINE NOW

28/02/20 - After a mammoth process from start to finish, the new collection is live and we are buzzing to finally get it out there!  Here are some shots from our shoots...

 

 

YOU ARE RAD!

Thank you so much for getting behind our Bushfire Fundraiser.  So stoked to donate all the profits to help the cause.  Australia loves ya!

 

GOLD COLLECTION SNEAK PEEK

This collection has been one of our biggest challenges to date.  Like everything we've done since starting out in 2016, it has been a bumpy road and a constant learning process, but we're not complaining.  We are super proud of this new collection.  More than three years of getting feedback, testing materials, fixing problems, researching, sweat, tears etc.  We cannot wait to see it all finished and on feet!  More soon.

BUSHFIRE FUNDRAISER SOCKS

Our hearts are breaking as Australia burns in these hideous fires.  People are dying, animals are dying and our beautiful country is changing before our eyes.  We wanted to do a little to help.  So we teamed up with the incredible photographer Martin Von Stoll aka Stoll Photography to make these limited edition socks.  Martin's images of the fires are awe inspiring and he has been a pleasure to work with!  We are donating 100% of profits from the sale of these socks directly to the bushfire crisis.  

Also, massive thanks to our man Greg Wallace for donating his valuable time getting our digital files in order, and Rhino Clothing's Brad for donating printing work super fast.  Australia thanks you!

 

FIGHT FOR THE BIGHT

What a community we have around us!  We paddled out to join the masses in protest of the proposed oil drilling in the Great Australian Bight.

Hit here for more info on how you can help protect this world.

WHALE SEASON IS UPON US

We recently teamed up with our friend, local photographer Sean O'Shea to celebrate whale season with a new sock. Using one of his most famous humpback whale images captured off Cape Byron.  And we love it!  Whale season never ends at MENNIE.

 

'HEART PALMY' 29/06/19

About 2 months ago we were cruising down a back alley in Burleigh Heads and took this photo of a rad little 15cm Elvis sticker on the wall.  And then totally forgot about it. 

3 weeks later we spoke to our friends at The Petri Dish, a collective of artists who put on amazing events, who suggested making a collab sock with one of the artists featured in their upcoming 'Heart Palmy' exhibition/show in Palm Beach, Queensland.  Hell yeah, lets do it!

So a bunch of the artists emailed through potential artwork to use.  One of the images was from CRT Designs, showing the original full piece of which the Elvis sticker came from, which CRT (Courtenay) had stuck on the wall herself just weeks before and we randomly spotted.  

So we knew which piece to go with instantly.  After a few emails and a bit of rushed production we got it together and made one of our favourite collab socks yet, just in time for the show.

So we packed it all up and hit the Gold Coast for a mad afternoon/evening/night at The Palm Beach Hotel.  Got to finally meet Courtenay, see the original piece in real life, as well as other works from her and the other super talented artists in the show.  Washed all that art down with too many beers and great live music.

Thanks Mindy at The Petri Dish, Courtenay (CRT) and everyone else for a rad day!  When is the next one?

Follow Courtenay CRT Designs here

And The Petri Dish here

 

FREE SOCKS 27/06/19

It has been colder and wetter than normal this week here so we just dropped off another bunch of clean socks to the community centre. Donated by our awesome customers and us to our #FootLarder Project.
People dont often think to donate socks to those in need, but having clean dry socks when you're sleeping rough can make things just a little easier. The response we just had this morning was amazing so please get in touch if you have any old socks you would like to donate. We will collect, wash and dry them and get them to those in need. Cheers. ❤

 

SNEAK PEEK OF A NEW COLLAB WITH CRT...

 

 

MORE NATIVES WITH THE NEW BANKSIA SOCK

THE LORD OF THE BINS...

With the popularity of our Brush Turkey sock, it was obvious that the Ibis (aka bin chicken) was next in line.  

TROPICAL CYCLONE OMA X BYRON BAY - FEB 2019

A few of our shots from probably the biggest, cleanest swell we've ever seen in the bay.

 

 

THE BEGINNING OF A NEW 2019 RANGE...

Feb 2019

We have been working on some new designs for 2019.  And the first one has just been released.  The MOTLEY. 

Historically motley means 'to be made up of a variety of colours.'
A little Jackson Pollock, a lot of mess, and a bit of the 'Rainbow Region' that we call home. A mid-calf, crew length sock. The Motley Crew.

TO THE RAILS!

Jan 2019

Checking out Byron's solar train in our Love Hurts sock.

JESSE'S FAVOURITE

25/01/19

You probably know our mate Jesse Pumphrey already, the super talented solo musician and member of the epic Byron band MINISKIRT, not to mention the co-founder of guitar strap company GOOD DOG Straps. As well as managing Byron's Volcom store.  The man works more than any man we know!  We caught up with him tuning up before a show in the Northern in his favourite Arakwal socks, complete with matching ACDC slides.  STYLE!

Hit those links above for more on Jesse and his strap company.

TESTING

 

The weather has been crazy hot here lately.  Perfect to test out some new sock thicknesses we are working on. More info about this soon....

SPARKLING

A new addition to our cap range.  Go easy on this one though!

The Kingsley Cap.  Available in flat (pictured) or curved brim.

2018 WAS EPIC!

31/12/18

Huge thank you to everyone who has beleived in us and supported us. Thanks to all of our customers online and everyone who came out in the rain and heat to see us at the markets. It has been such a fun year collaborating with some absolute legends and making some amazing new friends. And thanks to our friends and ambassadors who represent the brand so well, and to the shops that reached out to us and now sell our products, we owe everyone a beer! From the Mennie family to yours, Happy New Year!

 

 

GOOD MORNING JAPAN

19/12/18

We are frothing to now be stocked in Dead Kooks Shonan!  Amongst some amazing brands in this boutique surf and apparel shop.  ARIGATO!  Dream come true!

MORE FREE SOCKS FOR OUR FOOTLARDER PROJECT

15/12/18

We just dropped off another bunch of clean socks, donated by our customers, to those in need, available at the Liberation Larder (behind Byron Community Centre). We didn't get that many donations lately so we topped it up with a bunch of our brand new socks.  According to the Liberation Larder and other charity groups we have spoken to, socks and underwear are often forgotten as a necessity for many homeless people, so we are stoked to help get your socks to those in need!  Keep donating them you legends!

INSTORE AT TRUCKSTOP SK8

We are now stocked in the best skate shop in NSW (maybe Australia).  We have always loved this shop, run by the incredibly passionate Tony and Freddie who live and breathe skate culture and selflessly push the lifestyle (easier said than done these days).  A truly independent core skate shop, which stays true to their values.  Something to admire.  After nearly closing their doors earlier this year we are stoked to see the shop regain its momentum and look better than ever.  We can't thank them enough for welcoming our little brand into their store!  Check them out here.

 

 

FAIR GO 2018

After getting skunked with the weather in October, Fair Go is back on this weekend (15/12/18).  This is our 3rd year sponsoring prizes for this epic comp.  Not just a local comp in Ballina, it's a big comp on the Australian skate calendar.  Huge prize money (EQUAL MEN AND WOMENS!) and heaps of prizes means it attracts the best skateboarders in the land.  Selflessly organised by the guys at Truckstop Skateshop every year.  Sure to be a sick day!  See you there!

CHRISTMAS IS COMING

There's still a little time to get your orders in and receive before Christmas!

FIND US IN NOOKSTORE

We met the legends at Nookstore last year on a roadtrip / surftrip / brand trip down the east coast, and loved their store, the place is sick and we thought it would be amazing to get our stuff in there!  Today you can find our socks in there, surrounded by some of our favourite brands.  Right where we want to be!  Make sure you check them out if you're in Newcastle!  Or shop online here.

 

TEAZER'S SHOW WAS GOLD!

We were so stoked to be a little part of our friend Davey's solo show in the Popped Creative space!   We were lucky to watch Davey's work evolve in his studio in the months prior to the exhibition, and it was unbelievable to see it all together in an epic setting.  Check out a few shots from the show.....

THE FINDERS KEEPERS

We've been aware of these markets since the beginning but just recently we have felt ready to take our brand to the 'big stage' that is the Finders Keepers.  So yeah, after 2 months of prep, sweating in our garage, we're there!  Brisbane Showgrounds, all weekend, Friday 9th November 12pm - 9pm, Saturday 10th 9am - 5pm, Sunday 9am - 5pm.  You can find us in the debut stalls section. BRISSY!

MORE MENNIE X TEAZER

We have teamed up with TEAZER again and made some epic limited edition socks for his massive upcoming exhibition, presented by the legends at POPPED Creative.  STAY GOLD.

MENNIE X ASIWYFA... FINALLY

When Mennie brand founder Andrew first started toying with the idea of starting a sock brand in 2015, one of his first sketches was of this logo on a pair of socks.  

Fast forward to 2018, Andrew and partner Melanie (who met at an ASIWYFA gig in Belfast) are living in Byron Bay, Australia, loving life with their new baby girl Nancy.  These socks had to be made for the band's first tour of Australia!  If you don't know the band check them out here.

These socks are currently only available to purchase at their Australia shows.  Gig listings below...

Nancy thanks you!

 

MENNIE X AMANDA ALLEN

We hooked up with 3 times Crossfit World Champion Amanda Allen and created a sock that truly encapsulates Amanda, unicorns, sugar skulls, and all the mottos that Amanda lives her life by.  FIND A WAY with the Amanda Allen sock.  

Check out more here.

 

TEAZER'S TIGER

The latest collaboration with artist Teazer, the Stay Gold sock.  Epic artwork and the dreamiest mustard/gold background.  GOLD!

Keep up to date with Teazer here.

MENNIE X AIME

 

 

Battle at Bruns 2018

We recently sponsored the annual Battle at Bruns skate comp, run by Byron Skateboarding School, Truckstop Skateshop and Byron Youth Service.  After being rained off a couple of times the weather finally got its act together for an epic day of skating!

For The Boys

For The Boys is a community created by local Byron Bay legend Bobby Walker who wants to break the stigma attached to men’s mental health and suicide. Bobby has seen many young lives lost and wasted due to mental health issues and says “I was that guy that was so wrapped up in my life, I was uneducated and non- compassionate. I was the tough guy” but now he realizes the importance of being there for your friends he says “Please everyone, take a step back, think about your mates and talk to each other.”

Bobby is about to embark on a tremendous walk from Noosa, QLD to Byron Bay, NSW. This walk is Bobby’s way of spreading awareness about the struggles that so many people are facing and dying from on a daily basis. He says, “There’s a common pattern here. Women talking, men not talking and now (they’re) no longer with us.” Bobby wants to start the conversation and let men know that it’s better to speak up, be real with the people in your life about your mental health and risk people judging you than not speaking up. He says “Real is the new cool”.

Head over to Bobby’s event page and snatch up a ticket for the welcome home party in Byron Bay. All all proceeds raised will go to covering cost of the event and the rest will be donated to Mindfull Aus.

 

The temp is dropping

But the stoke isn't 

Not from this world...

We are working on a new design with one of the raddest street artists in the galaxy, Davey Mac aka TEAZER.  Get excited!  Meanwhile, check out one of his latest pieces in Byron Bay, and stalk him here. 

 

Hello World

For a small shipping fee we can now ship our products to literally anywhere in the world!

We made caps!

Don't they make you wanna have a beer?

 

More free socks for those in need.

Socks donated by our customers (who receive discount on purchases) to our Footlarder project, where we collect the socks, wash them and give them to anyone in need in the community through the Liberation Larder.

Jacaranda socks, represented in Germany!

Edit by Rian Davidson, featuring Finbar Laverty and Joe Hill.

New styles...

Hello Spring

Josh Godward August

A roll around 12 year old Josh's local in Lennox Head.

 

One year old today - 07/08/17

Once around the sun. 365 days of Mennie Brand. from meldrew productions on Vimeo.

 

Quick Indo trip July

A few shots from a short trip to Indonesia in July.........

NEW BRAND VID JULY 2017

Video made by us. Additional aerial footage by Michael Assim.  Music by And So I Watch You From Afar.  Thanks to everyone who helped make this!

SPREAD FEATURED IN 18SECONDS MAGAZINE JUNE 2017

 

POPPED WENT OFF! 22/05/17

Last weekend Byron Bay had a true one-of-a-kind event.  Abbie Gibson, Monique Hartman and Liesel Arden, collectively known as POPPED CREATIVE, executed what we are calling PARTY OF THE YEAR!

The team coordinated the revamping of Byron's famously shady 'Surf Alley' (aka spew alley) with the help and talent of the best local artists in the area.  Namely SHMICK, AUSTIN, BASIX, NITSUA, BURG and TEAZER.

We got onboard with the team and made a limited edition range of socks for the event.  Collaborating with five of the artists was one of the raddest experiences we have had and we are looking forward to working with these guys in the near future.  Watch this space.

Over 2 nights the team held it's 'Laneway Activation'. Bringing the whole community together to celebrate the alley's new look. A pop-up restaurant by The Three Blue Ducks and a bar featuring Stone and Wood and Brookie's Gin kept the party going as live DJs spun to a packed dance floor.

The event also launched NITSUA's new Fresh Air Gallery, where the crowd got to watch live street art being created by the artists.  Pretty sure everyone who witnessed it now has a much deeper respect and understanding of just how talented these guys are!  The pieces were auctioned off live on Instagram, with proceeds going to the Lismore flood victims.  So rad!

Check out some photos from the event.  Congratulations to the team at Popped Creative and everyone involved for pulling off the most stylish event Byron has ever seen.  Cant wait for the next one!

  

 Fin in Berlin by Rian Davidson

 

March has been pretty epic...

A few of our photos from the last few weeks

Mel and Meryl and the Pacific Paisley

QUICK SESSION WITH RUBEN

We hooked up with Ruben Roxburgh for a quick morning slide on this little left bank. Music by Jeffrey Lewis.

Ruben Roxburgh - Welcome to the team - MENNIE from meldrew productions on Vimeo.

 

Finbar in Arakwal

ROISIN'S MORNING CRUISE

Photos by us

 

 

ISAAC AND HIS BIRD

Late 2016, we hooked up with Isaac Roxburgh and Nathan Fryer for the funnest skate in Evans Head.  Check the vid and photos from the afternoon....

 

                            

 

FAIR GO! 2016

 

     

FAIR GO! 2016 from Gabe Roxburgh on Vimeo.