AUSTIN, Texas — Many moms know how frustrating it can be to end laundry day with a basket full of unmatched socks.

  • Mom created the company SoleMate Sox
  • Socks have magnets to stay together in the wash
  • Sells her socks in pop-up shops and markets

That frustration is what led Catenya McHenry to find a way to create socks with an unbreakable bond. 

"I know so many people who own a sack of singles," McHenry said. "So I thought there's got to be something on the market that keeps socks together."​

McHenry set out on a mission to play matchmaker for single socks, and came up with a simple, yet unique, idea.

"I just sat down and started trying a bunch of things," she said. "I came up with the idea of putting magnets in the socks to keep them together."

SoleMate Sox was born with the slogan "Every sock has a SoleMate." Each pair is bound together by magnets near the top of the sock, and the connection doesn't break, even through the toughest wash cycles. The cushioned bottom and funky patterns, designed by McHenry's kids, turns a regular pair of socks into an experience.

After spending over a year on research and development, McHenry debuted SoleMate Sox in 2017 while she was living in Birmingham, Alabama. Now she sells her patent-pending invention from her new home in Austin. She says the move was a great way to grow her business.

"Here, I already have that network of people that understand entrepreneurship, that understand small businesses," she said. "It has innovation as one of its main features."

Now she sells her socks in pop-up shops and markets across Austin. 

"Although it came from frustration, I wanted to infuse love into it in some way," she said. "I love my children, I love this product and I love being able to make people smile, so everything we do is about love."