Community Highlights: Meet Connie and Jakki Wong of Wee Monster

Today we’d like to introduce you to Connie and Jakki Wong. 

Connie and Jakki, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Established in 2016, both sisters wanted to create a space for funky, edgy but high-quality, comfortable kids’ clothes. Each piece is designed and produced in Los Angeles. (Pre-washed, pre-shrunk. 100% cotton. Our fabric is even knit in LA!) We take pride in creating jobs in our local communities, as well as supporting local vendors. 

We continue to work towards creating a brand that authentically reflects our lifestyle – weekdays in LA and weekends by the beach. Over the years, we’ve found that Wee Monster became more than a brand – it’s a lifestyle we live by each and every day. 

Wee Monster is in stores internationally from US and Canada to Europe and Asia. You can visit our showrooms in LA, NYC, London, and Milan. We pinch ourselves daily because this journey has been so surreal. Everything has been such a blur and a blessing. Things are pretty insane on a day-to-day basis, but we love every bit of it! 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It definitely wasn’t a smooth road, especially in the beginning of our business. 

Men dominate the fashion industry – from the design level down to the production level. 

As Asian American women, we are constantly being overlooked and disregarded. 

A specific time comes to mind… Wee Monster had to continue purchasing from a specific fabric vendor for years. He was the only one who had lower minimums and the fabric we needed. For years, he would joke about how little we purchased from him and questioned our business skills. And for years, we had to smile and put him with his attitude because we knew there wasn’t another vendor who would take our small batch orders. 

We’ve experienced this same event over and over again with different men – cutters, screenprinters, etc. 

It wasn’t until the last six months that we were able to completely cut all of these men. We’re at a level where we can meet the higher minimums. And with that, we chose to work with female-owned and/or minority-owned businesses where we see eye to eye. We refuse to fund vendors who treat us any differently. We are so grateful to be able to pick and choose our vendors these days. It’s a dream. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
OUR PHILOSOPHY– 

Wee Monster is all about celebrating the idea: “Kids should be kids.” We want Wee Monster to create space where kids don’t need to fit into a box or shape. An opportunity we didn’t have growing up. 

Your monster wants to learn to surf while eating tacos? Wear five sweaters every day (at the same time) for a week? Sleep on the ceiling? GO FOR IT. 

It’s not just the cool kids’ clothes – it’s the philosophy we’ve built and hope to continue building. We had this crazy idea that clothes can make kids feel CONFIDENT, HAPPY, COOL. Transform them on the daily. 

The crazy part is that we found other STRONG, SMART, WILD individuals just like us along the way. Netflix, Lane Crawford, LA Times, MilK Magazine, Razor Scooter, etc. This is the small evidence that we may have done something right. 

What makes you happy?
We honestly love the freedom of the brand, as well as the personal freedom we’ve built over the years. This truly is what makes us the most happy. We love that we’re able to make decisions on a professional and personal level that feels true to who we are and who Wee Monster is as a whole. 

There isn’t someone telling us, “No, you can’t do that.” 

When we make big brand decisions, we always run it back to “WHAT WOULD WEE MONSTER DO?” Designs. Production. Marketing. We have to stick true to our brand. 

This is our true happiness. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.weemonster.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wee_monster/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weemonster.kidswear
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSGoCIvU23zx2lha4KiYZFw

Image Credits
Shastin Fletcher