Good Sammy Ellenbrook hosted a book launch for The Rescue Sock Project, a humorous coffee table book by Perth artist, volunteer and first-time author, Kelly Grant.
The book features 45 preloved socks which have all been upcycled into various characters, including ‘Socky Balboa’, ‘COVID Sock Down’ and ‘Sock Martin’. The hand-stitched characters were made from unsellable socks and preloved buttons from Good Sammy op shops.
“I tried to get a good cross section of the community and there’s something relatable for everyone in there. Hopefully the penny drops for readers, or it starts a conversation about who the sock characters could be,” Kelly said.
As well as being funny, the book sends an important environmental message about what can and can’t be donated to op shops, and the importance of upcycling to keep preloved items out of landfill.
Kelly is an award-winning artist who has exhibited in London, Melbourne, Perth and her hometown of Kalgoorlie. Her art, which is mostly made from recycled materials, is about giving things a second life.
She was inspired to start The Rescue Sock Project two and a half years ago after a visit to Good Sammy Malaga, one of her favourite op shops. She had visited the store to look for socks to upcycle for an art project and was stunned to see the volume of donated socks that couldn’t be sold for hygiene reasons.
Having recognised this was a problem for op shop staff and the environment, Kelly was compelled to come up with a solution. “If there’s a problem, I’m going to try to solve it with humour, art or creativity,” Kelly said.
She rescued the old socks and took them home, washed them and started playing around with ideas. “Initially I didn’t know it’d become a book”, she said.
“It started with just doing the rescue sock characters, then I thought I could really make something happen by putting the characters in a book.”
Kelly has previously worked in libraries and appreciates the power of a good book in grabbing people’s attention; particularly a funny one. The 'punny' book about old socks reflects the author’s own quirky sense of humour, which she attributes to her Kalgoorlie upbringing.
If The Rescue Sock Project does well, Kelly hopes to write a follow-up book to introduce 60 more sock characters to readers. “I’d love the book to be a pair, just like a pair of socks. I really hope it gets out there and it helps educate people to do the right thing when donating to op shops,” Kelly said.
Follow @rescuesockproject on Instagram and visit kellygrant.com.au to buy the book and see Kellys artwork.
