Today I'd like to introduce you to a mom & daughter duo, DottyMonkey. Their Etsy store features funky fabric stuffed monkeys for young children as well as bags, aprons and much more! Their store is definitely unique and a one-of-a-kind place that your children are bound to love. Here is some more information about the lovely artists:
Tell us a little bit about yourself:
Dotty Monkey is Emily (daughter - artist,designer,sewing) and Julia (mum - pattern maker, sewing). We share a passion for beautiful and quirky fabric designs, and this gives us an excuse to indulge it, and homemade presents for children are a bit of a tradition in our family - Emily's gran used to make wonderful dolls and doll's clothes which are now being played with by the great grandchildren. Emily's day job is illustration (apart from being mother of two beautiful daughters, that is! - check out her new website at www.emieye.com), and Julia is retired but fills in the time by running a holiday cottage, trying to grow vegetables, and pestering Emily for new designs.
What is something that makes you and where you come from stand out:
Emily - It's friends that make places special. I was brought up in a tiny village in Derbyshire (in the middle of England) and I love to go back there to visit, but I've been living in Scotland for about 15 years, mostly in Glasgow, which is a wonderful city for artists, and I've just been lucky enough to have two years at the Glasgow School of Art. Julia - I'm still living in Derbyshire and still can't believe my luck, as it was my childhood dream to live in these amazingly beautiful northern hills, and now I do!
What is it that you create?
We make soft creatures - monkeys, kittens and monsters, as well as aprons and bags featuring our colourful characters. Everything we make is safe for children and meant to be loved and played with, but we're delighted that grown ups love them too, especially the monkeys.
What inspired you to start creating?
Emily: I started out making sock monkeys for my daughters and my friends' children. Everyone loved them and my mum, Julia, was keen to sew things that I designed, so we looked for fabrics that we could use to create our own monkey designs. When we discovered the Liberty jersey fabrics we were hooked, so it was really my children, and Liberty, that inspired me! Julia: It was Emily who inspired me - so I still leave all the designing to her - it's the craft of sewing that fascinates me.
What is your most favorite item you have created?
We always love the monkeys and each one is unique so we wouldn't want to hurt any of their feelings by singling one out as a favourite.
Any inspirations you would like to mention?
The Moomins, Mary Blair, and Beatrix Potter - we suddenly realised this the other day when we found a battered copy of "The Story of Miss Moppet" in the attic - the pram kittens must come from Emily's childhood memories of this!
Please share with us any blunders you have encountered as a seller, if any, and how you resolved the issue.
Worst so far is underestimating the time the post can take around Christmas from UK to USA, next Christmas we’ll only use tracked mail, even though this is actually sometimes slower than ordinary mail - at least we won't spend weeks worrying where the parcel can be!
Any tips or advice you would like to share with the readers?
The Storque is a really good read – inspiring and helpful! Have faith in what you're doing, and keep on trying to improve photos - we don't feel we've quite got there yet, but it's fun trying.
Please be sure to check out their store as well as other locations you are able to find them on the web:
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