Congrats Caleigh! What a great article from Charlie Magazine.
Sock Monster
Monsters under the bed no more.
Charleston artist CaleighBird’s sock monsters have been appearing in some fashionable places lately like
JLinSnider,
Barsa and
Jail Break 2. The irresistibly soft and cuddly handmade monsters are as funky, unique and lovable as something out of Pixar’s “Monsters, Inc.”
And guess what happens when you twist socks together just so? They take on personalities.
“Dennis is actually a very gifted chef. He spent a few months in Toulouse, France last year and has been showing off his talent ever since!” Samuel, a blue guy with tired eyes and sporting only a tie, “is a bit of a busy body, preferring to stay late at the office to number crunch, and he is completely addicted to coffee. He does however, know how to have fun, especially during out of town office team-building exercises.” These are the fanciful and hilarious descriptions given to the monsters for sale on
Bird’s etsy site.
Looking through a big monster pile, Caleigh grabs one, Ingle, a smallish white guy with a ring on his head, and says offhandedly, “He’s super phallic, accidentally.”
The naming process is particularly fun for Caleigh, who finishes sewing the monster before deciding on a name to match its personality. Often people are attracted to her monsters because of their names. She was helping a customer pick two out and suggested Pepper and Tipper saying, “they are totally androgynous.” Two of her favorites, Posey and Camille, who almost look like twins, were sold to a mother with twins. Like owner, like monster.
Caleigh only lets herself keep one monster, Judith, admitting, “I get really attached. I’d probably have a room full of them otherwise.”
Making monsters is the latest focus of Caleigh’s artistic pursuits, which stem from her passion for oil painting, often of hands and feet. Human parts.
These unique hand-crafted objects won’t break the bank but might melt your heart. With accessories like scarves, bikinis, bow ties and aprons, their signature plump lips, and some sporting a long tongue, buck teeth or fangs, you are sure to find one that speaks to you. Or to someone else. ‘Tis the season, after all. The season for monsters.
