Featured Artist: The Cuddle Shop

Andrea at the Cuddle Shop has taken the traditional sock monkey and made it a hip addition to any kids (or adults!) collection. From her cute Strawberry Lemonade monkeys to her rockin' pink and black Death Angel (pictured above), she's sure to have a monkey that you want to cuddle!

1.Tell us a little about your craft, what is it and how did you get

started in it?

I make sock monkeys and I make each one a different character with their own personality. I started making some sock monkeys because I had several ideas of what I wanted to make. I had seen lots of fun socks that I thought would make a fun monkey. Now I have an endless list of sock monkey characters I can make. I just can't sew fast enough to get them all into my shop. Previous to making sock monkeys I had been making cloth dolls and I brought skills I had learned from doing that into making sock monkeys.

2.What inspires you or helps you create?

I get inspired in two different ways. I'll think of a certain character that I want to make, like my Jack the Undead Sock Monkey or my monkey I made after the character Teal'c on Stargate Sg1 (Editors note: yay, another SG fan!) so I'll go out and search for the socks and supplies I need to make those characters. Another way I get inspired is by the socks I see. When I was at the store and I saw rainbow socks I knew they would make a great Rainbow character.

3.What do you love most about being a crafter?

The thing I love most about being a crafter is I love to come up with an idea, draw it, plan it out and then when I start making it I see my idea take shape and then become tangible. It starts as an idea and then becomes something I can hold.

4.What one thing would you tell a new designer that you wish you had known when you first started?

That making mistakes is how you learn. You can't expect to be a perfect seamstress when you first sit down to sew something, but sticking with it and practicing is definitely worth it.

5.Where do you see yourself in five years?

In five years I see myself sewing clothing, and hopefully having my own patterns for cloth dolls and their clothing.