Meet Lenny Terenzi, Designer, Illustrator & Community Builder.
Lenny Terenzi is a designer, illustrator and screen printer operating under the name Hey! Monkey in Durham, North Carolina. He specializes in branding, children’s book illustrations, and hand-pulled screen printed goods and services. He loves bringing people into his studio for workshops and team-building in hope of making their ordinary days extraordinary. For the past 6 years, Lenny has served with and on the board of AIGA Raleigh, currently as Vice-President. We chat with Lenny about his passion for nurturing creative communities, his background, and what he’s up to.
Sandip: Let’s start from the beginning, where are you from? Tell us a bit about yourself (growing up, family, school, etc).
Lenny: I was born in Endicott, NY in 1973 and lived there and Kingston, NY until I was 10 when my family moved to North Carolina as part of the mass exodus of IBM families from the North to the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. The adjustment was real hard from me having had established friends and moving to somewhere where I was seen as an outsider. It threw me for a loop for sure.
Sandip: Growing up, would your parents say your current career choice was pretty obvious given your hobbies or what you were good at?
Lenny: It was a given that I would go into some sort of artistic field for sure. There was no other plan or option at the time. But it was looking like it would be a more traditional art and illustration area as computers were not along enough in that capacity to be a medium yet. But that all changed in the late 80’s and Print and Graphic Design class I took in my Junior and Senior year in High School.
Sandip: What was your first job in “design”? What did you like, learn, dislike, etc.
Lenny: I had a contract job at an ad agency cutting out athletes for trading cards. I was treated very much like hired help (and to be fair, I was) and the job had zero creativity whatsoever so I knew I wanted more out of my career. If the term “pixel-pusher” had been around in the early 90’s that is what I was doing there. I lasted a few months and bailed. From there, I had a combo of trying to freelance, working retail and odd jobs to make money and then even a long-stint as a semi-professional musician. I finally settled on doing my own thing a year after my daughter was born in 2000. So 2001. Around 2008 I took some contracts at ad agencies and that is where I really learned so much about branding, campaigns and client relationships.
Sandip: You design and illustrate, but also produce work like screenprinting. How’d you learn all of these? What’s the process like to make screens?
Lenny: I absolutely have creative attention deficit disorder so I want to do all the things, at the same time, right now, haha! I think it is a matter of just really wanting to explore and experiment but coupled with the drive of doing it as well as I can. Not settling for good enough. At least in my mind. Which can also be a hinderance as well.
As far as making screens for printing, honestly that can be an article all unto itself. But in short, make that art (digital, analog, however you want!), create a film positive, get your blank screen, coat it with a liquid films called emulsion and you expose that screen with the film positive. The light cannot penetrate the film positive and that emulsion washes out allowing ink to pass through the screen onto your garment, paper, whatever!
Sandip: You’ve been running Hey! Monkey for over 16 years now. That’s amazing and you should be proud. What are some things you believe have helped you stay successful?
Lenny: Sheer dumb luck. Honestly, that may be the actual truth. I am a great people person but a horrible business person. I have made some serious missteps but the strength of the community and my family around me are the reason I am still here.
Sandip: What made you want to take the leap and do your own thing?
Lenny: Stubbornness. I left my job at a nice corporate gig full of fire but probably a bit too young to really do what was needed at the time. I have always had a little issue with authority (though I’m much better now) and I think that, mixed with my stubbornness, just played into me feeling strong enough to give it a go.
Sandip: What’s the hardest part of running your own studio?
Lenny: Staying on top of everything. I am a one-man shop, not in a place to really hire yet so I do it all from design and print to clean the bathrooms.
Sandip: What’s the best part of running your own studio?
Lenny: The ability to experiment and keep learning new techniques. I love that feeling when you figure out a new way to do an old trick and increase your productivity. I also really enjoy doing workshops and events at the studio. Bringing people together is my favorite!
Sandip: Is there a story behind the name Hey Monkey?
Lenny: They were the first two words I said to my daughter when she was born. “Hey, Monkey”
Sandip: Walk us through the process of starting a new project. What’s that look like? How do you start, who does what, the different phases, tools you might use, etc.
Lenny: It starts with a call or an email. I will then via phone or email do an initial call and toss out a few client qualifier questions to see if we will be a good fit. I go for personality first then everything follows after that. If I don’t think I will get along with the client I absolutely will not take the job. But if we click (and we usually do!) I will setup an initial meeting to go over details on both sides. Then I send off a proposal (again, all in-person if possible) then we enter the kick-off phase. I really like to make the meetings fun with games to bring personality in the process.
I am currently evaluating all sorts of tools (including Cage!) to find what set of tools will work best for me since my projects vary in type so much.
Sandip: What’s been your favorite project to date? Why?
Lenny: It’s been one that never saw the light of day. A great family was going to start a 1940’s inspired lunch counter in a small town here in NC. They wanted everything to be period perfect in terms of design aesthetic. We even went so far as to research the past tenants of the historical building and we were going to create brands and merch for each of those as well as a nod to the history of the area. Unfortunately small town bureaucracy just killed their spirit and they decided to kill the idea. We had gotten pretty far into the process. Honestly, I was heartbroken.
Sandip: What do you think is the hardest part of what you do (in terms of the job of a designer or illustrator)?
Lenny: For me? The business and financial end. Just staying on top of all that. I mean, when it comes down to it we get to draw for a living so there is not much to complain about there.
Sandip: People might not know this about you, but you’re a bit of a super dad and often leave sketches for your daughter in her lunchbox. What started that? What’s her response like when she gets one?
Lenny: When I got divorced I had 50% less time with my daughter. I wanted to make that time count even more and just make even stronger connections when I had her. She LOVED them. I have since stopped doing them (very important to give yourself permission to stop long-term projects) but it was one of the most important things I have ever done I feel.
Sandip: You’re an avid community builder. From your involvement in AIGA to Creative South? How did that start, why’s that important to you, and how would you encourage others to get active?
Lenny: It started with my divorce and just looking for people to be be around so I didn’t feel alone. I used to avoid things like AIGA thinking they were elitist clubs and the lack of confidence in my own skills had me avoiding conference as well. I also didn’t get involved with these groups because I didn’t know anyone. But I didn’t know anyone because I never got involved, lol!
You need to make an effort to put yourself out there and build those relationships. Not network, but build relationships. I would say get to a conference, go to a chapter meeting and put yourself in the mix. Do not take the attitude of “What can they do for me?” or “How will I know I get my money’s worth?” Make yourself get your money’s worth and hold conferences and AIGA Chapters accountable to make sure they give you your money’s worth. Look for places you can add to the conversation and make your voice heard.
Sandip: What made you want to help so much with Creative South? How did the connection with Mike Jones come about?
Lenny: So Mike is the co-founder of Creative South. He started it almost 8 years ago. Before 2013 I had no idea who Mike was. I went to my first Creative South in 2013 and just put myself in the mix and stepped outside my inhibitions just a little. Then Mike and I happened to be at WMC Fest in 2013 later that summer and became family. Plain and simple. In 2014 I played music, vended and participated in INK WARS, 2015 I was a speaker and then the last few years I have been on staff to help Mike and the team grow Creative South into arguably the best conference on the scene today.
Sandip: What advice would you give your 20 year-old self?
Lenny: Get out, meet people, create real relationships. Listen more than you talk and slow down and take your time. I think the “hustle” that everyone talks about to make things happen is bullshit. We can never get back time. So do your work then do your play. And do both the best you can.
Sandip: Most folks get into creative ruts. Do you have a person, place or thing that inspires you? Something to help pull you out?
Lenny: Funnily enough I have been in an almost 8 month long rut. Nothing coming out. Pencil to paper and nada, zip, zilch. So I have been talking very publicly about it and just saying it all out loud and that has been making me feel better and getting the wheels moving again. I hope to be sharing a lot more illustration work again soon!
Sandip: You live in Durham, North Carolina. What do you love most about living in NC? If someone was coming to Durham for a few days, give me your list of must-do, must-see, must-eat places!
Lenny: Durham is a food paradise! BBQ? Blue Note Grill. It is my favorite restaurant in the area. Head over to the American Tobacco Campus and take in a meal or two, get a drink, marvel at the stunning architecture. Durham is having a real renaissance at the moment and is the place to be. Vibrant arts, tech, theater, music venues. And of course you can stop by the coolest screen print shop in North Carolina too!
Sandip: Do you have a favorite book or podcast (or both)?
Lenny: I’ll give you some favorites… For design podcasts I listen to Masters of One, Creative South, Creative Pep Talk and Adventures in Design. I am a big fan of WTF with Marc Maron, Lore and I LOVE Dumb People Town.
Lately I have been reading a lot of Art of (insert movie or game title here) Books and I have been getting back into reading some comic books. I am loving Paper Girls, Rat Queens, Chew, Invincible.
Sandip: What are you listening to at the moment? Do you have a favorite artist/band while you work?
Lenny: I am loving all the old soul throwbacks happening right now. St. Paul and the Broken Bones are a particular favorite of mine at the moment. But I really listen to most anything.
Sandip: Do you have any daily routines you follow?
Lenny: Right now my schedule is all over the map and I am going to be working on that right away. Scheduling out my days better to make sure things are getting done that need to be done. Since I have my daughter every other week my schedule shifts around depending on her being with me too. I am really bad at making routines stick and want to try and improve that area of my life.
Thanks so much for reading! Each week our team publishes an interview with a designer, illustrator, filmmaker, animator or artist that inspire us. A big thank you to Lenny Terenzi for taking the time to share his story with us! You can see more of Lenny’s work over on his personal site, Dribbble, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
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