Cheelee Yang and Tommy Her are Fresno educators. Along with their love of teaching, the married couple is obsessed with socks.

“We’ve always loved socks and we have always built our own collection of socks,” said Yang. “Every time we travel, doesn’t matter if it’s out of state or out of the city, we’re always looking for socks. . . . We wanted to open up our own (store) and bring this uniqueness to Fresno.”

Yang and Her are co-owners of the newly launched “Crazy Socks” named after the variety of designs and styles offered at their shop in River Park.

Teaching While Running A Business

While Yang and Her are excited to start their new business in time for the holiday shopping season, Yang says they also are nervous about opening up — especially after the pandemic affected many small businesses.

“It’s a lot of work to balance,” said Yang. “We’ve never done this, start our own business. But we have hope in our city and our community and are hoping that everyone supports us.”

Since their launch last Friday, Yang says she is still learning how to juggle her work as a kindergarten teacher and as a new store owner.

Her husband has done the same, balancing his duties as a Fresno City College instructor by day and a store owner by night.

Despite the added work, Yang says they are enjoying spending time in the community and coming up with new design ideas.

“We always wanted to start our own business and we always wanted to work together,” said Yang. “So this is one of the ways that we can do that, and again, it just stemmed from our love of socks.”

Socks of Every Kind For Every Taste

As a kindergarten teacher, Yang finds inspiration from her students who step into her classroom rocking different styles and creative clothing.

“My students will always tell me what they like,” said Yang. “They always have dinosaurs and sharks on (their clothing). The girls will tell me what kind of animals they like and so the students definitely inspire me.”

At the moment, much of their sock inventory is from U.S. companies, but Yang hopes that in the future, they will be able to produce and create their own brand.

Crazy Socks Partners With Valley Children’s for the Holidays

The couple has partnered with Valley Children’s Hospital on a sock drive for patients. Individuals can purchase an extra pair of socks that will be placed in their donation bin to help sick kids in the hospital.

“When we were about to open, we were thinking, OK, who else could this benefit?” said Yang. “We didn’t want it to just benefit us.”

Yang says her grandmother passed away two years ago. She recalls how cold hospital rooms can be.

“I was just thinking about my grandma and about the patients in the hospital. How cold and lonely it is there,” said Yang. “We wanted to give something that brings a smile to their faces and makes them laugh, not just like normal socks, but we wanted to provide them with things that mean a lot to them. So we’re hoping that this brings more cheer to the patients in the hospital.”

Store Hours and Information:

Monday – Friday: 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Saturdays: 11:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Sundays: 12:00 – 6:00 p.m.

You can find Crazy Socks in River Park at 192 E. Via Del Parque, Fresno, Ca. 93720