A version of the following article appeared in the Monday, September 28, 2026 edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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Graphic design professor and ‘sock guy’ sells designs on his website, but these won’t be available for sale
by Tony Mecia
When Mike Wirth saw the email last year announcing the merger of Queens University of Charlotte and Elon University, he started thinking about what the combined school’s new name might be.
As an artist and a Queens graphic design professor, his eyes went straight to the schools’ logos, and his brain started imagining the possibilities.
“When we got the first email that had the logos next to each other, I was like — Queelon?” he said. “It just clicked. Then I said it jokingly with a colleague, and they were like, ‘Oh my God!’ and I was like, ‘There’s something there.’”
So Wirth did what any good graphic designer and self-proclaimed “sock guy” would do: He printed a couple of pairs of “Queelon” crew socks.
Queens graphic design professor and self-proclaimed “sock guy” Mike Wirth printed two pairs of “Queelon” socks in honor of the merger with Elon University. But they’re not for sale. (Photo courtesy of Mike Wirth)
He wore them at a back-to-school coffee this summer, and they were a hit: “Everybody is like, ‘Oh my god, where can I get them?’” His reply: Nowhere. Selling “Queelon” socks is “clearly a copyright violation,” he said. He sells socks featuring his designs on his website but won’t sell “Queelon” socks.
Wirth even presented a pair to Jeff Stein, Elon’s chief integration officer and executive vice president who is leading the merger in Charlotte. He said Stein laughed, put the “Queelon” socks on and even posted a photo of himself on LinkedIn wearing the custom-made hosiery.
Stein wrote in his Sept. 4 post that mergers bring “innovation, opportunity, & great new colleagues” and thanked Wirth “for bringing me a pair of these brilliant merger socks.” (He added: “Disclaimer: this post is intended for the sole purpose of recognition & enjoyment & has no official or approved imagery!”)
There’s some anxiety around Queens about the merger, but Wirth said the socks are a way to keep things positive.
“It’s my way of saying, ‘This is going to be great, y’all. Let’s be hopeful. And here’s a little swag to get you into it,’” he said.
Alas, one thing the socks did not do was manifest “Queelon” as the new combined name. Elon announced last week that Queens will be called “Elon University / Queens College.”
Good luck fitting that on a sock.