I am so proud to see my little creation, Julius the Monkey, come to life as a giant balloon in this year’s Macy’s 84^th Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was about 16 years ago when I first created this monkey to adorn handmade wallets and handbags I was stitching up on my little Singer Sewing machine. Never in my wildest dreams did I think he would ever get this far.

Julius’s popularity eventually put him on everything, from wallets to watches, T-shirts and even on toilets. Now to have Julius represented as a giant balloon in the Macy’s Parade is a great honor for me.

And to think, it all started because my grandmother liked to make sock monkeys. Thanks, Grandma!

Heart,
Paul Frank