It’s been said that one can only see the stars when it gets dark enough. Briana Bloom is a testament to that. Briana looks like your average 14-year-old. She is demure and sweet. Sitting cross-legged in blue jeans across from me, we are surrounded by a gathering of button-eyed monkeys and other delightful creatures of her making.
Briana is also a spirited young entrepreneur. Guided by a strong artistic bent, she was inspired to create her sock monkey business during a time when fear and infirmity should have been her focus.
Her mother, Leanne, tells about the past year, as Briana struggled with weight loss, cramps, exhaustion, sore throats, and bleeding mouth ulcers. After a series of tests, Briana was diagnosed with paediatric Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory digestive tract condition with no cure.
The doctors reacted quickly, administering a strong drug used in cancer treatment. Briana spent the next 4 months on the couch surrounded by IV poles and medical equipment. Due to the mouth ulcers and swollen throat, the family had to tube-feed her daily and her condition became an around-the-clock vigil. Already a slender girl, Briana had lost 20 pounds, bringing her weight well under 100.
As her condition improved, she sought ways to kill the monotony. Inspired by a sock monkey she’d seen at a craft sale, she had the family dig up orphaned socks and craft supplies from around the house. Though she’d never sewn anything, she researched patterns online and was soon stitching together squishy, loveable primates.
“It was something to do to keep my hands busy,” Briana says. “I really didn’t know where it was going to go.”
As her collection grew, the monkeys became tokens of appreciation to her many visitors and well-wishers. “I loved seeing how it could make people smile,” she says, beaming. “Something so simple.”
With some word of mouth, soon Briana was making sock monkeys to sell. Her dad, Chris, began taking orders at work, and before Briana knew it she was creating custom sock monkeys, baby owls, fluffy
llamas, plush animals, and sock bunnies. She realized that she was the CEO of her very own business, now called
Cute As A Button. $1 dollar from every order is donated to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada.
“Briana’s name means ‘strong one,’” says Leanne. “I can’t think of a more perfect name for her. She walks the hard road with so much grace and humility. Through all of that, she just keeps giving. I’m so blessed.”
