Our Story

The Beginning

May, 2010:  My oldest daughter was in Lexington, Kentucky, with her college equestrian team at the IHSA National Championships. My other two daughters and I traveled to Kentucky to watch her and cheer for her team. A part of my role as horseshow mom is to clean and polish her riding boots. Over the many years of horse showing, I took on this role of “expert boot polisher” with a passion. While I was buffing her boots with the traditional horsehair brush, I was handed a small child’s sock. “It will take you forever to do it that way, try this.” (The “sock” suggestion was a gift from the stable manager at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.) The tiny, brightly-colored sock shined those boots easily, however, it was small and difficult to hold.

A week or so later we were home in Pennsylvania. I was packing winter clothes for storage and threw all of my nylons into the trash. However, it bothered me to throw away something potentially useful. It was at this moment my crazy brain kicked into gear. I wondered, can this hosiery be assembled in a way to buff those tall boots? I wondered, could I create something easier to hold, be larger than a child’s sock, look cute and make my daughters laugh? So, I dumped the old nylons onto the floor and went to work.

I cut up the fabric and tied it tightly into a bunch. Braided some of the fabric and shaped it into a loop handle. And there it was! A pantyhose pom-pom that resembled my dog, Lillie. Lillie is a black and tan, fluffy Shih-poo, who is full of life and at times, looks like a mad mop on a mission. – Her nickname is "Fluff Monkey". I took the pantyhose pom-pom, newly named “Fluff Monkey”, to our riding ring in our back yard. It was there in the dust, that I gave my daughter and her boots their first “Monkey Shine”.

Over the past few years, the logo and look of the Fluff Monkey have changed. The logo no longer includes Lillie, the dog. We were told she looked like a possessed monkey. So now, we just have the banana. The banana idea originated from the super large pillow that Lillie would jump on. Plus, monkeys and bananas go together.

The Fluff Monkey evolved into many colors and now the shape of the pom-pom is a little more refined. Plus, many more uses for Fluff Monkey have been discovered. Pony Poms for ponytails (girls hair accessory) and body mop (specifically for bathing) are other versions of Fluff Monkey.