Hand-sewing on the streets

When the sun sets in Burbank, Darlene O’Connell searches for an empty parking lot, lays down cardboard and covers herself with several blankets to protect against the cold night air.

When morning comes, she brings all her belongings to George Izay Park, where she spends most of her day sewing sock monkeys.

She knows other homeless people who roam the park as acquaintances or friends, and keeps an eye on those who have problems with drugs or alcohol — substances she avoids entirely.

“Most of the homeless, that’s a problem for, but there are some of us out here who aren’t on those, and it’s important that the world sees that. Some of us are just average people,” she said.

A couple of months ago, local parent David Beeler met O’Connell in the park, where he and his youngest son often spend half an hour after dropping off his 6-year-old at Disney Elementary, and before taking his 4-year-old to a nearby preschool.

When the father and son came upon O’Connell one day, Beeler initially wasn’t sure if she was homeless or just passing through.

But the second time they met, 4-year-old Ryder became excited after seeing several hand-sewn sock monkeys peeking out of a bag on O’Connell’s bicycle.

“He went over, and of course, he wanted to buy all of them,” Beeler recalled.

There were sock monkeys made to be a cowboy, a warlock, a ballerina and a zombie, but Ryder ultimately settled on a “Greenpeace monkey,” who wears a brown vest stitched with a peace sign.

Beeler, who has made it a habit to visit O’Connell with his son, has also purchased “fisherman monkey,” who wears a straw hat and overalls and holds a wooden pole attached to a small stuffed fish.

“Most mornings, we come by and say, ‘Hi,’” Beeler said. “I was always impressed with how sweet Darlene was with Ryder.”

He also admires O’Connell’s disposition.

“Despite her circumstances, there is a hope and optimism and joy and charm in these little monkeys she makes that reflects her being,” Beeler said. “For that to come through her work, despite that she sleeps out in the rain, with no home, no place to be, is a phenomenal thing.”

O’Connell only began making sock monkeys a few months before meeting Beeler and his son. She buys the buttons and stuffing at Hobby Lobby and the socks from the 99 Cents Only store that end up there because they have slight flaws in their stitching, O’Connell said. However, they’re made with quality material, she added.

It takes her about a day to sew each animal and another day to make its outfit. More than monkeys, she makes sock bunnies, cats and dogs, crocheted baby blankets, hats, scarves, stuffed animals and handbags out of denim jeans.

On Monday, she was at George Izay Park sewing a pair of lederhosen for a reindeer.

The orders for the animals (they sell for $20 each) come by word of mouth, and from people who pass through the park, like Beeler, who ask what she’s making.

O’Connell has been living on Burbank’s streets for more than three years.

Her parents, who live in North Carolina, where she was born and raised, worry about her, O’Connell said.

“My father keeps begging me to come home,” she said.

But she fled from an abusive relationship and doesn’t find it feasible to return.

In Burbank, she’s faced the “hard road” of being homeless.

“Each and every person out here has been through some tragic life event that has led them to this point, and some of them don’t bounce back. Some people do,” she said.

But there have also been people who have helped and “went beyond the call,” she said. The other day, a stranger left a crocheted hat and scarf on her bike, although she didn’t see who it was.

On the weekends, she said the Burbank churches do a good job of providing the homeless with one hot meal. The Burbank Temporary Aid Center has provided her with hot showers and sack lunches.

“So many of the homeless have done things where the community [does not] trust people anymore, but I’m here to say… some of us are good people. We’re just on hard times… Mr. David was willing to go out of his way to help me — a random homeless person — by buying something that I make,” O’Connell said.

“Even though I was homeless, he wasn’t put off by that… which I thought was very touching, because a lot of people, when they see the situation, that’s all they see. They can’t see through the situation. I call it rose-colored glasses. They need to take them off and see the world,” she added.

She’s also gotten help recently from the MacPherson custom-leather store in Burbank, which has started selling O’Connell’s animals.

After O’Connell made an acquaintance with the owners of the store where she has purchased small scraps of leather, Alan Fischer, president, and his brother, Ronny Nadel, vice president, agreed to sell the monkeys two weeks ago.

There were five for sale in the shop on Wednesday, each wrapped in plastic bags that O’Connell uses to keep them clean.

Nadel said he has already sold six, including one he bought himself. Each $20 sale goes directly to O’Connell, who Nadel recalls seeing around town about two years ago.

“She always seems happy, which… is really cool if you don’t have a house — that you can still feel that spirit,” said Nadel, whose store is located at 519 N. Victory Blvd. “I just wanted to help. Whatever we can do for her, I just figured, might as well try. We thought we could help because it’s Christmastime. They’re cool,” he said of the animals. “And people like them.”

If O’Connell can make enough money selling her crafts, she’s hoping to be off the streets sometime next year. She doesn’t have a bank account set up yet, but when she does, she’d like to establish a site on Etsy, a website used to sell handmade items.

“The happiest thing I get out of making these is seeing the faces of the children light up when they’re handed the toy that was bought for them,” she said. “For me, it’s just relaxing and fun to make them... I had a handmade bear when I was little and I had her till I was 18 years old. Come to find out years later, that my grandmother actually made me that bear. I know that handmade things last a really long time. The joy that’s on their faces now, I imagine that lasting years and years. These things really do — they’re durable.”