Frankenstuffs, the recycled stuffed animal company from Beacon-based Stephanie Dignan, first came across my radar in a Facebook Group. That was several years and several rabbit holes ago. I’m not longer in most Facebook Groups (thanks, invasion of privacy and total lack of trust in that platform!). I’ve been searching for these stuffies ever since, since Stephanie accepts stuffed animal donations, of which we have several in my home. To give you an idea, watching Toy Story is torture for me.

Hence, Frankenstuffs. The recreation of stuffed animals to live new lives. After I stumbled into the temporary location of the traveling pop-up, Sleepwalker Textiles, there they were. You can also find Frankenstuffs on Etsy.

The little sliver of a shop next to (and part of) the Beacon Hotel that used to house Howling at the Edge of Chaos and a shop called something like Wanderlust or some such (chime in if you remember!) is now the temporary home of Sleepwalker Textiles from Sally Streets, the traveling pop-up shop that started in the cluster of shops that is The Chocolate Studio (former home of Denise Gianna Designs and current home of The Village Jerk).

Sleepwalker Textiles sells cute little things like sweet lady boxer shorts and aprons, and is the embodiment of the concept: “Human consumerism and globalization has led to unsustainable living wages for the American working class and the precipitous decline of our planet. Sleepwalker questions this apparent inevitability by posing a challenge. Is is possible to create and sell products within a community, priced within $5 of a comparable product found at a big-box store, while providing a $20/hour wage?”

There’s a sewing machine in the shop, and constant creation of new inventory, most of which is most likely unique, in that the fabric used is donated in order to pay the desired wage, and to reduce the fashion footprint of clothes into the trash.

Equally exciting is that they are carrying other designers as well, namely Frankenstuffs, the stuffed animal company that I first discovered deep down in Facebook groups somewhere years ago, and have been chasing them through Facebook ever since. (Chasing unsuccessfully since my footprint in that place has been reduced by leaving most groups except for mom groups.) And here Frankenstuffs is finally on Main Street in Beacon! For now.

Frankenstuffs is your answer to continuing life for stuffed animals that are not wanted anymore (sniff). You’ll find a few of the stuffies in the Sleepwalker Textiles shop.

Find the Sleepwalker Textiles shop at 438 Main St., next to the Beacon Hotel, which is near the Beacon Movie Theater, Story Screen.

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