à Terre
à Terre is a small business in Nashville, Tennessee created by a
dancer who was ready to do just about anything to finally get a
good pair of socks. Our first product, the Dance Sock, is available now! Designed by dancers for dancers.
Our Name and Our Mission
à Terre is a ballet term meaning “on the ground," which derives
from the French phrase for “grounded” or literally “earth”.
à Terre reflects both the movement of the dancer and the beautiful earth on which we dance.
Dancers know that to lift ourselves (and others) up we must first find our feet. At à Terre our mission is to uplift dancers and artists by providing the highest quality dance products that meet your artistic and practical needs.
Dancer designed, dancer tested, dancer approved.
By Dancers for Dancers
Before founding à Terre, Margaret Pugh was a dancer who noticed her friends and colleagues were constantly on the hunt for apparel and equipment for dance that was just right. They were usually left searching through fashion-driven big box stores or sportswear brands that catered to other athletics. Why was it so difficult to find the tools that we as dancers need to perform at our best? Margaret wanted to make a company that would prioritize high quality dance wear that is specifically designed for the needs of dancers. *climbs on soap box* Gone will be the days that dancers must make do with products not made for them!! Ahem. *climbs back down*
Our Origin
During her final year of college, Margaret found herself costuming a piece of her choreography. This required her to find 15 pairs of socks for her dancers. On a road trip home after the semester, she bored her mother to tears while discussing the intricacies and difficulties of finding the perfect sock to dance in. Some were too slippery, some were too sticky, some fell down while moving, some cut off circulation. Somebody should make a company that makes socks for dancers! she boldly declared without any intention of being that somebody. But we all see how that turned out... and thus à Terre was born.
Our First Product- the Dance Sock
After joking about starting a sock company for a few months, Margaret accidentally did it. What came next was over a year of prototyping, testing, and refining (in our humble but picky opinion) the best dance sock ever. We are now so excited to launch à Terre with our first product, the Dance Sock!
Supporting Artists
When you shop with us, your money goes towards supporting an artist-founded business committed to working with, hiring, and uplifting dancers and other artists and their work. We have so many dreams about how we can support artists as we grow and we hope that you will join us on our journey.
Thank You!
None of this would be possible without the support of so many talented and dedicated people. From our manufacturers who helped refine our socks, to family and friends who gave advice and many, many emotional support hugs, to all of you who have joined the à Terre community and/or made a purchase. Thank you for being here!
From the Founder
As a child, I dreamed of becoming so many things: an astronaut, a mom, a dancer, Hannah Montana... but a business owner was
never one.
Even as I was contacting factories and lawyers, I was still
wondering why am I doing this? Well, besides the fact that I
really wanted a good pair of socks, I realized that while running an apparel brand wasn’t necessarily my dream, I was dreaming of what à Terre could become beyond that. It could become a place where dancers feel welcome, a place where dancers were taken care of, a place where dancers needs were placed first, a place that could support my artistic pursuits, a place where we could support other artists dreams.
You could say à Terre became my love letter to all dancers out
there.
I hope you enjoy the socks,
Margaret Pugh.
