Our Story

Gumball Poodle founder Erica Easley’s inherent love for knee socks began as a child growing up in California, with her mother’s signature look: a rotation of knee highs and bermuda shorts.

During the 2008 presidential race, Erica looked for a pair of Obama knee socks, but couldn’t find them anywhere. She set out to create her own pair and nine years later she has grown Gumball Poodle into an international kaleidoscope of bold and playful sock wear, with well over a hundred styles and designs.

Before co-authoring the world’s first book on vintage rock t-shirts, Rock Tease (Abrams Image, 2006), Erica worked in fashion in various capacities, from doing PR in New York to running the West Coast’s largest vintage clothing store, The Red Light, in Portland, where she is still involved.

She realized the sock industry presented a lot of room for creativity, so she began designing statement socks that she saw as a canvas for a new kind of self-expression. There is a fun nerviness to her collections, and she seeks to give people a feeling of playfulness in her designs.

Erica resides in sunny Los Angeles where she enjoys discovering the weirdness of the city by foot, collecting vintage records, and drinking not-so-fine wine.