Fires to the west, fires to the east, and Sawmill fire in the middle

Page 2 • June 28, 2012 • Mountain Mail • mountainmailnews.com
Magdalena homemaker enjoys
her work-at-home business
By John Larson
A few years ago Amy Stephens
of Magdalena began crocheting
rugs from strips of fabric. Today
she has a thriving online business
selling not only her “rag” rugs, but
sock monkeys, chalkboard mats,
chalkboard rolls and nylon “scrubbies.”
She said she started her new
project in 2008 with Marnie
Horman and started selling her
rugs and scrubbies at the Socorro
County Fair and Old Timers.
“We put the rugs and scrubbies
for sale on the Etsy website [an
online marketplace for handmade
items], but we saw that we were
hard to find on Etsy, so I tried a
separate website but finally decided
to just use Facebook to take
orders on,” Stephens said. “The
page is called Adornwithaandm,
which now has almost 10,000
fans.”
What has caught on more than
anything else she makes are the
sock monkeys, which she started
selling through the page last
October.
“The idea for sock monkeys
began with a ladies sewing group
in Socorro. I saw they had made
sock monkeys, the red-toed sock
type,” she said. “I thought using
different colors and different kinds
of socks would be more fun looking.”
Making up to 40 sock monkeys
by hand each week, Stephens buys
socks in bulk. She makes standard
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
June 30
•Hummingbird Photography
6:15 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. - Bosque del Apache
NWR Visitor Center
July 2
•Magdalena Board of Trustees meeting
6 p.m. –Village Hall
•Socorro City Council meeting
6 p.m. – City Hall
July 4
•Annual July 4 Celebration
11 a.m. – Macey Center, New Mexico Tech
July 7
•VLA Guided Tours
10 a.m.-4 p.m. – Very Large Array,
Highway 60
•Guided Night Sky Star Gazing
1 hour after dusk – Etscorn Observatory,
New Mexico Tech
July 10
•Socorro County Commission meeting
6 p.m. – County Annex Building
July 13-15
•Old Timers Reunion
Magdalena Rodeo Grounds
July 13
•Old Timers Street Dance with “Remedy”
9 p.m. – North Main Street
July 14-15
•St. Mary Magdalene Fiesta
1 p.m. – midnight Saturday
12:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. Sunday
St. Mary Magdalene Church, Magdalena
July 14
•Hummingbird Banding Workshop
7 a.m. – Bosque del Apache NWR Visitor
Center
•Hummingbirds of New Mexico
Identification Presentation
10:30 a.m. – Bosque del Apache NWR
Visitor Center
•Old Timers Parade
10 a.m. – First Street, Magdalena
•Old Timers Saturday Night Dance
8 p.m. – Magdalena Schools Fine Arts
Building
•Community Dance featuring the
Catron Cowboys
8 p.m. – Pie Town Community Center
July 16
•Magdalena Board of Trustees meeting
6 p.m. –Village Hall
•Socorro City Council meeting
6 p.m. – City Hall
July 16-17
•Sun Country Junior PGA Golf Tournament
New Mexico Tech Golf Course
July 17
•Magdalena Board of Education meeting
6 p.m. – Magdalena Schools Library
July 18
•Catron County Commission meeting
9 a.m. – Catron County Court House
July 24
•Socorro County Commission meeting
6 p.m. – County Annex Building
July 24-25
•Sun Country Junior PGA Championship
New Mexico Tech Golf Course
Amy Stephens surrounds herself with her handmade sock monkeys, chalk mats,
and rugs at the Stephens’ home in Magdalena Ridge Estates.
Photo by John Larson
designs and also makes monkeys
made-to-order.
She said her customers like that
they are personally hand-stitched.
“I took creative stitching in college,
and my mother and sisters
were always good at it,” Stephens
said. “The advantage of doing this
is you can be working at home.
“I take the monkeys with me
wherever I go. Have them with me
all the time,
she said. “I enjoy it, working with
my hands. Whenever I’m out
somewhere and have a few free
moments I’m sewing on a sock
monkey.”
Besides monkeys, she also
offers other animals made of socks
including giraffes, hippos, frogs,
turtles, elephants, lions and even a
T. Rex and a robot.
“Those other animals are created
by my sister Julia Shumway,
who lives in Wyoming,” she said.
Besides her sales from
Facebook, Stephens ships her
monkeys to far away stores.
“I ship to three shops in
Australia, one in Spain and one in
New York City,” she said.
Another sought after item is the
chalkboard mat.
“I created my first chalkboard
for a table. A big table sized one,”
she said. “Then the customer
asked for a travel sized one, much
smaller. They come with a loop to
hold a piece of chalk and can be
rolled up.”
She said she, with members of
the Alamo branch of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints, made 1,700 chalkboard
mats for children in Africa. Prior
to that the group also sent hundreds
of chalkboard mats to children
in Haiti and India.
Busy as she is with her online
business, Stephens’ priority is raising
her, and her husband Kelby’s,
seven children; Barack, 15; Jaydin,
14; Dyson, 12; Kael, 8; Krae, 6;
Ky, 4; and Kanaan, 2.
Kelby Stephens owns and
operates Socorro Physical
Therapy on California Street in
Socorro next to Smith’s, and is a
member of the Magdalena Board
of Education.
She said she is grateful for the
success her home business has
brought her.
“I get great satisfaction with
making something with your hands
and someone else wanting it,” she
said. “I never would have believed
I would be this busy, while doing
something I love.”
NM Licence #WD916
COMPLETE
WATER WELL SERVICE
Windmills & Pumps
(Solar, Jet, Submersible)
Domestic & Livestock
MACK’S WELL SERVICE
JAMES LARK
The only certified Franklin Electric technician in the area.
PO Box 11, San Antonio, NM 87832
Office: 575-639-1247
Home: 575-835-1815
NOTICE
The regular meetings of the Magdalena
Village Board of Trustees will be held
Monday, July 2 AND Monday, July 16
6:00pm at theVillage Hall
Visit Village Hall on North Main Street to view an agenda.
Robert’s Corner Copy
Phone: 575.838.4005 • Fax: 575.838.2205
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