Mellow Monkey Teams Up With Stratford Historical Society
By: Howard J. Aspinwll
Mellow Monkey
Mellow Monkey Gifts and Home Decor will further its continued partnership with the town’s Historical Society by holding a Gallery and Sale of vintage maps, photos and memorabilia reproductions. The framed images, which will be on display in an outdoor gallery at the store, have been reproduced from the Historical Society’s archives.
Mellow Monkey owner, Howard Aspinwall approached Gail Liscio, President of the Stratford Historical Society in the Summer of 2020 with the idea to reproduce artifacts from the Society’s archives as a fund raiser for the organization.
“As a small business, it has always been a priority for us to support community organizations like the Historical Society. We are acutely aware of the challenges these organizations have faced in raising money during the pandemic. With the recent market demand for home decor, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to meet consumer needs for wall decor while helping the Historical Society raise needed monies for improvements and operations,” said Aspinwall.
Aspinwall met with Stratford Historical Society staff in the Fall to go through hundreds of maps, photos and drawings from their archives. “I spent several hours capturing vintage photographs of local trolleys, vintage maps of the greater Stratford area and vintage drawings including numerous images of aircraft built right in Stratford by Sikorsky Vought.” said Aspinwall. “The project is a very exciting one for both the store and the Society as it makes these artifacts that have been previously reserved for viewing only at the Historical Society’s library available for purchase. And a portion of the sale of each item goes directly to support the Stratford Historical Society”
“We’re very excited with this project as it makes our archives more accessible to the public while giving the Society a new way to raise awareness of the town’s rich history,” said Liscio. “The gallery will certainly offer visitors the opportunity to take a walk down memory lane and if something they see resonates with them, their purchase will benefit the Historical Society.”
The Gallery and Sale will take place at Mellow Monkey Gifts & Home Decor, 360 Sniffens Lane in Stratford. For more information, mellowmonkey.com or call the store at 888-300-0631.
