All About Us…Monkey in a Dryer Custom Screen Printing and Embroidery Company located in Richfield Minnesota!

Our Monkey Mission

Monkeys live in communities called troops. At Monkey in a Dryer, we are a troop that extends to our neighbors, our vendors, our partners and of course, our customers. All is better when done in community with integrity, honesty, concern for others and a killer backbeat. Our mission at MIAD is to do amazing work for a fair price and to be the best neighbor we can possibly be. Welcome to our troop.

Monkey See Monkey Do Better

For MIAD, following the green initiative means being aware of the full impact of one’s actions. As a small business woman with a passion for reuse, MIAD is in the process of implementing positive environmental changes and moving towards becoming a zero waste leader in our industry. We believe that by sharing our ideas and the changes that we have made, will inspire others in our industry to rethink, reuse and recycle their waste by making more use of it. Check out what we do to reduce and how we reuse our bi-products at MIAD.

Monkey in a Dryer – What’s With the Monkey?

So, you want to know where the name Monkey in a Dryer came from? Oh, boy is that a long story! But I don’t mind telling it. Your first question is probably why the heck would someone put a monkey in a dryer? First off, animal rights people out there, you can relax. No monkeys were harmed or put in dryers—it’s just an expression. Haven’t heard of that expression before? Well, then this is where the long story begins.

First, let me paint you a picture. We are in the late 1950s/early 1960s—the days of black-and-white television, edgy beatniks, and civil rights. It was a time of protests and big changes, especially for women. The expression “monkey in a dryer” was born during this period when cultural changes began altering women’s roles in society, especially when it came to their roles in the workplace. Despite a large new group of women entering the workforce, many of them still felt the pressure to be homemakers. In other words, many women still felt the need to uphold the responsibilities of caring for the home and their families, while also working and earning money. As you can imagine, balancing all of these new responsibilities was no easy task and made for a very busy schedule. Much like a monkey spinning endlessly in a dryer, this era’s new woman was in constant motion.

As a women-owned screen printing shop, we wanted to pay homage to the women who came before us and how they changed how society viewed the role of women and paved the way for others to follow in their footsteps. As hardworking women, always on the go, we know what it means to be a Monkey in a Dryer! We have since grown and expanded our staff and made a more diverse workplace, but our backstory is still very much a part of who we are.