Designer Interview: Jan Willett

Monkeys by MonkeyShineStudio

Tiny Hanger is proud to feature handmade monkeys created by Jan Willett of MonkeyShineStudio. These monkeys are the perfect gift and best friend for your little one. They are handmade in the USA from all American made materials. They are also machine washable, so your little on can bring it everywhere! Come visit the monkey families at Tiny Hanger or visit Shop Tiny Hanger
and choose from a wide selection sure to please all!

Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am a graduate of Hartford Art School, with a degree in sculpture and philosophy. I am an all-around handy-person, who only really feels content when she is DOING or MAKING something. Idleness brings out my demons!
Accordingly, I love to cook, bike ride, work out, sew, paint, draw, etc.

Tell us about what you are selling at Tiny Hanger.

I sell handmade sock monkeys! Made in America, of American materials, machine-washable and safe for all ages,  of brightly-colored woven designs featuring recycled cotton fiber.

Do you make other things? 
 
This is my third "family", the Gaia Troupe, consisting of 8 different designs. The other 2 troupes, the Beantowns and the North Woods Troupe, can be seen on my website, www.monkeyshinestudio.com. They were made in limited editions; however, a few of the most popular designs from these troupes have been "reprised", and are available for sale on the site. I also make sock-topuses, cards, magnets and T shirts, and have made sock  penguins in the past.

Tell us about the materials you use to make your Monkeys. 

The monkeys are made with American sourced ingredients. The socks are woven in New Jersey, the fill is made in Connecticut, and the Gaia Troupe is assembled by the good folks at Opportunity Threads, a worker-owned sewing co-op in North Carolina.

I have a close connection to Hanuman, the Hindu monkey-god and helper of humans on the material plane. He helped me through a long illness, and connected me spiritually to my older brother Mark, who has since passed away.

The sock monkey is, to me, a symbol of the inventive American spirit; the desire to "make it work" with whatever materials come to hand. The first sock monkeys were made by Americans during the depression, out of old socks, as dolls for their children.
I like to think that I bring this spirit forward into the new century, with bright new riffs on a vintage pattern.

Any words of advice or inspiration for aspiring designers?

Follow your passion! You must believe in your product in order to make it "real" for others. Don't waste your time trying to make things you think they will "want"; many times people don't know they need something until they see it! If your product has your soul in it, it will shine.