The Crafty Monkey

By: Trevor Swaine

May 4^th  2007

          "I was trying more along the lines of art, rather than fashion."  says designer Shauna Woullard.  Her company, the Crafty Monkey is stirring up quite the commotion in the Austin, Texas area.  The Bold colors along with practical design have made her handbags quite popular among the college crew.  Along with handbags, The Crafty Monkey offers a variety of accessories that every girl needs in order to add that extra flair to any outfit.   The quick success of this young entrepreneur has led many people to ask, "Where did this girl come from?"

          Shauna Woullard first started her artistic career at age 13 by winning a blue ribbon in the 1988 Arizona State Fair for her painting, "Tree and Hills."  But throughout high school, her dazzling academic success took priority over her art.  After graduating Central High School, she received a substantial scholarship to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or M.I.T.  During her stay in Cambridge, Woullard was known for having a psychedelic style, which she exhibited in hand making polymer clay beads.  She used these beads along with other handmade crafts she made with her friends to decorate her dorm.  She even painted a mural on an entire wall of her bedroom.  Her skills and artistic vision really took shape during these years of her life.

          After graduating college she took up a career in chemistry. She worked for Gillette, a health and beauty products company.  Her major contribution was her formulation of the anti-perspirant formula used in the deodorant Right Guard Power Stripe.  She also worked for the Coca-Cola factory in Phoenix, Arizona.  After experiencing these difficult and high pressure jobs in the chemistry field, she started to re-evaluate her life’s direction.

          She decided to follow her life’s passion, which was to create quilted art.  At first, she made quilts and wall hangings as gifts for family members.  After fantastic reviews from family and a little encouragement, she decided to create The Crafty Monkey.  She and her husband moved to Austin, Texas, where music and art are a passion.  She entered her work in many art festivals, setting up a Crafty Monkey tent and selling her creations herself.  Slowly but surely, by word of mouth her fantastic wall hangings, bags, and belts gained popularity.  Pretty soon the demand for her goods surpassed the rate of her inventory, and she had to enlist contract seamstresses to make wallets, checkbooks, and headbands, which she had no time for.  Also, selling her products herself seemed to be taking time out of her production. So, she convinced local boutiques to pick up a line of her products, which she only had to restock once a week.  This allowed her to focus more upon the art of wall hangings rather than the fashion aspect. Now, many of her wall hangings have been featured in public works like the George Washington Carver Library in Austin, and the Crafty Monkey is still growing.

          If you are looking to check out any Crafty Monkey merchandise Woullard now takes on orders at thecraftymonkey.com.