The story of Shawnimals, an unlikely recession beater

In the beginning Shawn Smith created two creatures, a snakelike thing and a puffier thing. And they were stuffed animals without much form, with faces on neither. And the spirit of art student Shawn was compelled to make more, from sketches he had drawn while attending Illinois State University in Normal. And Shawn said Let there be polyester stuffing between two soft pieces of fabric, and let them be soft edged, or featureless so each can imagine what they are. And in 2001 Shawn said Let there be Shawnimals: and there were Shawnimals. Shawn’s girlfriend (now wife) Jen Brody began to hand sew the Shawnimals, and the Shawnimals became good. Shawn’s mom found a sewing machine by the side of the road and fixed it up for them to use, and its use divided the early bad forms from the new cute ones. Continue reading →