Today we’d like to introduce you to John.
Hi John, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
After spending 15 years in IT working the graveyard shift and facing numerous threats of layoffs, I saw turning 40 as an opportunity to reinvent myself and go in another direction. One day while having breakfast with a friend, we kicked around an idea to start a screen printing business out of my garage.
I did not have any experience in the industry, or even how to start a business so I decided to take a weekend print class. I instantly fell in love with it. I knew I never wanted to go back to the corporate world again.
After a few years of growing my business, I got lucky and found a couple of friends who were retiring and looking to sell their embroidery and high school letterman jacket business.
We hit it off right away. My customers now had a place to go to for embroidery and letterman jackets and their customers got to check out our printed goods, whether it be T-shirts, mugs, or stickers.
Now our letterman jackets are in almost every high school in the San Gabriel Valley as well as the surrounding areas in Los Angeles, Riverside, and Orange County, and a few out of state. We have printed for the LA Sheriff’s Dept, the film industry, and the surrounding businesses in the area. We are a part of the San Dimas Chamber of Commerce and try to give back to the community that has been good to us.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We have had a strong 7 out of our 8 years and have become involved with our local community and high schools.
We have a mentality that we stay until the job is done, and I feel our customers recognize and appreciate that.
Like a lot of businesses, COVID-19 hit us hard. All orders were pretty much at a standstill, we did not have any new letterman jackets or print orders coming in.
It is because of our customers that we were able to survive and retain our staff. In the beginning, we had a couple of customers who were also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and needed to survive like the rest of us but needed to figure out a different way to make ends meet. They did this by creating personal protection masks. These two companies came through for us and helped us keep our staff employed. We also had help with the SBA to secure PPP and EIDL loans but we will be forever grateful to artist Derek Riggs and Immortal Masks for looking out for us at the start of this pandemic nightmare.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When I started this print shop I took a page from the band Iron Maiden. You may not know their music but you know those album covers. You may not know what we do being called Funky Monkey, but you will remember the name and our funny logos.
We wanted to stand out and be the not-so-serious company. We are printing T-shirts and making letterman jackets. It should be a fun memorable experience.
While our specialty lies in t-shirt printing and letterman jackets, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hollywood came calling. With no school or sports, we had to get creative. We were referred to KNB Effects by our friends at Immortal Masks.
KNB produces those creepy Walkers on the hit TV series, The Walking Dead. Turns out they could not get all of their makeup people on set due to Covid protocols and were looking to cut the time that an actor would have to sit in makeup. They asked if we could print and sew zombie faces and gloves that the background actors could wear. We sent a couple of samples over and they did some tests. Long story short, they kept our shop busy through the dark days of Covid. They kept our seamstress’ working and helped us keep the doors open.
I always say the Walking Dead saved the living.
We were even given a credit on the series finale.
After COVID, we hit the ground running. Our customer base grows every year. We try to reinvent ourselves and try to keep things fresh. Learn about new technologies coming down the road. “Never satisfied” is what I like to think we are about.
Every time we see one of our jackets on social media or one of our t-shirts we printed on the street, it gives us a sense of pride. We created that, we are part of someone’s story now. They trusted us to create something one of a kind for them. It’s special.
I always tell kids, “Your jacket is one of a kind, it may have some similarities to other jackets but this one is made custom for you”. We do not make a patch until they earn it. Patches are made in-house, by hand, and with attention to detail. The same goes for the embroidery. A jacket will last a lifetime. I still have my Rosemead varsity high school jacket from 1989. It doesn’t fit anymore but it’s still in good shape.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up I loved watching TV and movies. My parents took me to the drive-in to see The Exorcist when I was 5. Yeah really. You could do that stuff in the 70’s but it drew my attention to Horror and I am a fan of the genre to this day. My Dad used to run a Haunt at El Sereno Park back in the late 70’s and even borrowed props from Universal Studios. I was hooked.
Growing up in the 80’s was a blast. Movies, music, concerts. I grew up in Rosemead 3rd third-generation Mexican/American living East of East LA. They should make a movie called East of East LA because every movie you see about Mexican Americans is based where???
Rosemead was small-town suburban living and we didn’t realize it then but it was our mecca.
Being born and raised in LA County, I am convinced I will never leave California. We just have everything here. You hear the complaints about traffic and this and that but go anywhere else and be there a while….You’ll hear the same complaints.
My #1 rule is, don’t get on any freeway until 10 am and be heading back before noon.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.getfunkymonkey.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/getfunkymonkey/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/getfunkymonkey
