Wee Monster AW19 Collection

Wee Monster AW19 Collection

Kids should be kids. We're here to empower every monster to be himself/herself.

Wee Monster's AW19 collection is based around our main collaboration with Isabella Grace. It's definitely a passion project between Jakki and myself. It means the world for us to share this story... to inspire and empower all parents and their monsters.

Jakki's story (mom statement):

Last September, we had Isabella's first parent-teacher conference for the year. The meeting went from bad to worse. I clearly remember the teacher tapping her #2 pencil at Belle's classwork. Flipping through the pages. Tap. Tap. "Look! Do you see that?" Tap. Tap. Every tap was at a backwards letter "b or d," maybe even a "p or q." So the teacher finally said, "Isabella has Dyslexia."

Honestly, if in fact, my child does have Dyslexia, I wouldn't fight it. I am very willing to work to support her through it all. However, I know Belle's just a typical lefty. Left-handedness runs in my family. Both of my kids are lefties. My brother and sister are also lefties. And even after doing some research, this is a very common stage for second graders. They will naturally grow out of writing these specific letters backwards. And you know what? She has! 

After the conference, I almost took the matter up with the district about how this teacher "diagnosed" my child without any real evidence at all. But my always very calm and collected husband told me to not make the matter any worse, because ultimately, Belle would be the one dealing with it in her classroom for the rest of the school year. 

So instead of throwing a fork at the teacher, Belle and I took our anger out by creating art. Belle has always been passionate about art, which isn't always a topic explored by her last teacher. If it wasn't on a test, it didn't much matter. This is exactly why we decided to empower and explore her art in a very real way. She hand-sketched three illustrations.

1. Flyon: A lion they can fly.
2. Unicorn: Her all-time favorite unicorn with a detailed skull included. (Because punk rock.)
3. Jack Raditt: Because she wrote her "b's" as "d's" and we wanted to make a statement in celebrating this lefty-ness.

Parents, please use your voice to advocate for your children. Please know that everyone monster is gifted in their own special way. Kids should be kids.

Connie's story (auntie/teacher statement):

As Belle's auntie, this experience hurt my heart. I've taught English and Special Education for five years before going full time with Wee Monster. I would never approach any teacher conference in such a way. I always make it a point to work as a team with parents... and this isn't what happened in this case.

I personally took the time out to assess Belle and the situation. Both Jakki and I were very open-minded about all the possibilities. However, this just wasn't the case. Belle scored above grade level in reading and writing comprehension. I also took the time out to really research lefties. As a lefty myself, I remember flipping my letters as well. It was just something I grew in and out of. So we hope that all parents stay open to all the possibilities and solutions during this parent conference season. Every child learns differently. There's no right or wrong. We just have to do our best to support them!

We've continued to foster her love of reading. Her latest craze? Harry Potter. I love how curious Belle is, especially with all her questions. I only hope we can continue to inspire her to explore art and the world.  

Wee Monster will be donating 5% of sales of the Jack Raditt Sweatshirt to Inner-City Arts. Inner-City Arts is a local space located in Downtown Los Angeles, which creates a safe space for students/kids to explore art.

We actually drive by Inner-City Arts most days during production. I've known students who love this organization, and we'd only love to support. Most schools in California do not have healthy and/or extensive arts programs for students. In addition, 29% of schools in California don't offer art programs period. 

One of Wee Monster's core values is to give back each year. We choose an organization that is near and dear to our hearts. This year - and every year - we are truly passionate about pushing arts programs further in education. It's not just about books and tests. We want our monsters to be creative in every each way.


We'd love to hear from you! Did you have any similar experiences? How did you go about it? 

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