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Meet the Makers

This page is meant to introduce you to our team and the passion, purpose and determination behind the brands.

Get to Know Our Team:

Casandra

Hello,

We are the founders and makers behind the brands “ Simply Me,” our subsidiary brand “Sub Sox” and our parent company “SMG,” officially (Simply Me ~ Gentlemen, LLC).

My name is Casandra Quintero and I started SMG in 2017 with my husband Trent’s encouragement. Growing up on the outskirts of Seattle, WA I was able to enjoy playing in the woods and being immersed in a lively world that I loved and this was a world where I was surrounded by nature and animals. I’ve resided in Washington State all of my life and feel so blessed to be able to call the Pacific Northwest home.

In 2005 I graduated from Washington State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Apparel, Merchandising, Design, and Textiles. After graduation, I immediately began to utilize my education while working two jobs that pertained to my degree. This continued until I was able to consolidate my schedule by working my way up and into a management position with a Nationally recognized Corporation.

When I began my role as a Manager I inherited (a mess) increased responsibility and was able to utilize the knowledge I had attained in college to vastly increase the capability and profitability of the department that I was given control over. Although I loved parts of all of the jobs I had, I knew being my own boss would allow for creation without limitation and oversight. I strongly felt that from this position of freedom I could allow myself the ability to foster my talents, experience and skills and to truly create impact and meaning. By being my own boss I’m able to determine the way I choose to spend my time and more importantly, to determine the direction of my labor, my family and the ways in which we interact and give and take from the world around us.

From my professional career I have met some amazing people and sustaining these relationships is important and meaningful to me. Since going into business for myself, I have seen greater challenges and greater rewards in terms of my ability to control my time, my relationships with people, and my ability to determine the direction and destiny of my family and I.

From an early age I’ve been blessed with parents who showed me valuable skills such as cooking, crocheting, and cross-stitching. Along with them teaching me the importance of having a strong moral compass, I’ve always had a desire to create and to do good for others. In 2017 my passion for crafting officially went from hobbyist seller on Etsy to licensed LLC in Washington State. Fast Forward to 2023 and I have now sold products to over 15 countries all over the world and continue to Create Without Limitation.

I’m always working hard to create unique handmade items for my beloved clientele and to gain the trust of new customers by providing the best quality and customer service I can. My loyal clientele has become accustomed to this high quality and care and we always strive to produce goods that are “Nothing Like the Rest.” The products we produce pass through our hands and into the hands of others and we feel that the energy put into them while being hand worked gives them a feel and look that is superior to our competitors. A growing customer base seems to support this belief and we couldn’t feel more grateful for all of the people that have purchased, reviewed and used our quality goods.

Until my next thought or photo, Thank you!

Sincerely,

Casandra

Owner & Operater

SIMPLY ME

“BE AUTHENTICALLY YOU, BE SIMPLE, LIVE BIG, GIVE BACK WHENEVER YOU’RE ABLE TO.”

Trent

Our Story:

Being raised in Eastern Oregon, I was the second youngest in a family of six children and have fond memories of spending time on construction sites with my Father and playing sports with my friends. Throughout my life my parents and siblings have all taught me a great deal and they will always be an important part of my life. Hard work and sacrifice has been a theme growing up in my family and I now realize that my parents did so for us to be able to compete in sports and tournaments and (most importantly) to continue our education. During college I was fortunate enough to be able to play football and in 2022 I began working toward a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

Although I loved growing up in Oregon, I have thoroughly enjoyed living in Washington State since 2014. Brought here out of fate and also the ability to work locally for a Rail Road company, I saw a unique talent in my wife Casandra’s handmade gifts. While on my second deployment to the Middle-East, I especially noticed the care and attention-to-detail in the gifts my wife shipped to me. On all of the fabric gifts that she made for me she included these little tags that read: @last. This was to signify that I would someday be home @ last, and it was these little things, in part, that made me realize that she made nicer and higher quality creations than I could purchase.

Upon returning home we talked and planned, found our first home, and had our first child together! It wasn’t long after that when we decided it was time to also incorporate our first company under our men’s line “Simply Me ~ Gentlemen.” What started off as handmade bow ties and pocket squares has turned into a myriad of “Solid Made Goods” and brands such as hats (Top-Notch Headwear), footwear (Sub Sox), and hygiene products that get carried and sold locally, nationally, and globally.

We’re still a small boutique shop that desires to work our products with our own hands and to stay as local as possible, however, through vertical integration, collaborations and market demand we’ve been enabled to tailor make goods on a larger scale and capacity. We’re extremely grateful and feel so blessed to serve others and continue on our path of faith, love, and creativity.

Our Brands:

What makes us “Nothing Like the Rest”

Aside from the higher quality and greater durability of the goods we produce over our competition, we also incorporate ways that allow us to Give Back. A strong ethos enacts not only aspirations but commitments to always create with meaning. When we develop a good there is a reason, story and way to give back behind it.

Socks for a Cause

One unique way that we’ve developed in order to give back is our “Socks for a Cause,” which will grow over time to include hundreds of causes that people can support. Currently, our Sub Sox brand has our own custom designs on socks for Breast Cancer Awareness, The Ukraine War, and the Lebanon Crisis. Each Cause has a high % of the revenue generated through the sale of the specifically designed socks that goes to help and further each Cause. Nearly all profits from these goods is donated and reinvested in order to promote and grow this portion of our company and this is because we feel it is one of the most significant ways that we can change our world for the better. When our time comes to leave this world ourselves, we feel that our legacy and most important work related to our business will have been through the creation of our “Socks for a Cause.” We hope that it’s an everlasting way for people to help each other around the world and that our children can continue to further this unique and innovative formation of blending business with giving.

“Art Socks” by Sub Sox

Another important aspect of our operation is our “Art Socks” which enables artists to put their amazing masterpieces onto our super comfortable and quality Sub Sox. What’s unique about this is the structure for artists to have real tangible socks with their art on them without having to spend or invest much money and sometimes none of their own resources at all. When we seek an artist out, we typically waive the small application fee and basic starter pack which includes 3 physical pairs of socks for them to wear and promote, as well as 3 other mock ups of their art for digital listings and future production. Artists that choose to collaborate with us earn an agreed upon commission that is paid out instantly when their socks sell and the order is successfully processed (almost always within 24 hours of each sale). We currently have a handful of carefully selected artists that we sought out in attempts to put out a successful proof of concept.

Socks for the Homeless

For every pair of Sub Sox that is sold and doesn’t fall into the categories “Art Socks” or “Socks for a Cause” a pair of socks will be donated to the homeless! Wherever your feet may take you, when you wear Sub Sox you can feel better knowing someone else is being helped by your purchase.

We’re a “Glowforge Powered Business”

With the addition of this amazing machine we’ve been able to transition from outsourcing things like hat patches to the manufacturing of many of our own product pieces in-house. By bringing processes under our control we’re able to maintain the high-quality standards our clientele has come to know and go from sample to production to fulfillment in the blink-of-an-eye.

Another great thing that our Glowforge enables us to do is to take our ideas and make prototypes and turn those into tangible products that are unique and all our own. Prototypes take time and many iterations to get them correct but once they’re finalized and worthy of becoming a product, the Glowforge ecosystem makes the reproduction of products a breeze.

Kickstart Your Passion

We’re strong believers of taking risks in order to see your vision come to life and the Kickstarter Platform is a great way to test concepts with real world results. After seeing classmates and other businesses find success on Kickstarter we finally launched our own in 2022. Our “Sub Sox for Happy Feet” Kickstarter Campaign was very meaningful for us and helped us expand our Sub Sox brand dramatically. Aside from the extra business created from this exposure, we were able to sort out the direction of this brand and also donate hundreds of pairs of socks. We look forward to helping other businesses create, run and manage their campaigns and also to do some more ourselves in the future.

Created By
Casandra Quintero
Appreciate