Justin Thomas wouldn’t dream of sleeping through the social media craze, though he’d be quite comfortable if he did.
The Morton Grove man makes pillows — social media pillows he sells through Craftsquatch-Geeky Pillows and More!, an online shop on creative marketplace Etsy.com.
“I was struggling to find a paycheck in Chicago, which is difficult when people with degrees are vying for the same office jobs,” said Thomas, who loves to sew as much as he loves connecting with people online. “So to pass the time, I became a social media junkie.”
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Thomas is a one-man operation. Every pillow is made to order, ranging in price from $15.99 to $17.99.
“Depending on the number of pillows, I usually take a whole day to cut a bunch of fabric,” said Thomas, 24. “The next day I’ll lay them out and start the stitching, and the next day I’ll continue that and start stuffing.”
“The shipping time varies, but right now it’s at one to two weeks.”
Besides the Twitter and Facebook logos, Thomas offers a variety of Internet-themed designs that range from the RSS feed symbol and Flickr logo to the infamous Twitter Fail Whale. He said the Fail Whale pillow is the most requested and most difficult to make. It’s also on back order.
But while Twitter might sometimes go down unexpectedly, Thomas says he’s always thinking about what to do next. A quote on the Craftsquatch page sums it up pretty well:
“Keep an eye out for some new kick-butt, nerdy designs continually coming!”