Wendy Leslie is one of those women who can't sit still and watch TV without doing something with her hands — sewing, embroidering or even stuffing one of those funky monkeys she sells at the St. Albert Farmers' Market.
By day the Edmonton-based craftswoman is part of the support staff at W.P. Wagner High School. But at home her creative juices start flowing, and she makes stuffed monkeys, dinosaurs, aliens and vivid patchwork creatures from women's and children's socks.
Leslie took her first steps as a craftswoman making baby clothing and blankets for her children and later Christmas ornaments. Her foray into the stuffed animal kingdom started in 2005 when she was surfing the Internet for some fresh craft ideas.
“I found some sock monkeys. At first I didn't like them. I thought they were ugly. But my daughter Meaghan liked them. She thought they were cute,” says Leslie, who during the interview was multitasking at Fabricland buying tulle for her monkeys' ballerina skirts.
It turns out her daughter was right. Leslie bought all manner of vibrant material — bright oranges, hot pinks, lime green, camouflage, stripes, polka dots and anything unusual.
She sewed like crazy for the Stop and Shop Craft Sale at the TransAlta Barns and made out like a bandit. There was definitely a future in stuffed animals.
“A lot have their own unique looks. Many are colourful, and they're fun and chunky. They have a soft fabric with a polyester fibre fill. They're very cuddly.”
In some cases, buttons are used for eyes. In stuffed animals for very young children, Leslie embroiders or shapes the eyes from flannelette.
Similar looking to the monkey in the Curious George book series created by Margaret and Hans Augusto Rey, Leslie's creatures are in fact borrowed from a sock monkey craze that swept North America in the 1940s.
“A lot of people who come to the booth remember sock monkeys from when they were kids. I think that's why it's so popular. It brings back memories and they pass that on to their children and grandchildren.”
Although the interaction with shoppers is energizing, Leslie wasn't quite prepared for the stuffies' popularity when she started at the St. Albert Farmers' Market in the summer of 2009.
She sells about 20 creatures each week along with another 20 to 30 monster pillows, iPod and cellphone holders and key chains. Although the stuffies take only an hour to make, there are still challenges in finding the time.
“For the first year, I wasn't prepared to make 20 monkeys a week. It was murder. I had my husband helping and my daughter stuffing the monkeys. But nobody knew how to sew but me.”
Ultimately there's always one thing that outweighs the challenges. “I put a lot of smiles on people's faces and that's pretty nice.”
For more information visit www.thefunkymonkeyshoppe.com.
