When I got my first needle-felting kit at eight years old, I didn’t exactly fall in love. I broke most of the fragile needles, and my end result looked nothing like the picture on the box. I decided then and there that I would never needle-felt again. Years later, I stumbled across the kit and decided it wouldn’t hurt to give it one more try. I had another rocky start, but once I learned to focus my technique and stopped breaking needles as often, I had a new obsession. I love this art medium because it provides an exciting adventure of teaching myself to refine my skills. Needle-felting isn’t something I was taught in an art class or see out in the world often, so it feels like a unique and personal experience. While most mediums I use are set aside after a while, I continue to needle-felt regularly because there is still so much I want to learn. I generally focus on felting animals because the soft felt wool is the perfect material to capture furry appearances. I focused on 3D projects for years until I tried taking a compressed felt square and needle felting into it, creating an image. Because I was self-taught, I didn’t even realize this was an established form of needle-felting. I ended up making a 2D felt portrait of my dogs and cat, and the wool felt gave it a level of three-dimensionality. I didn’t know it yet, but this one project would turn into the most important part of my art career so far. Family friends started seeing the portrait and wanted one of their own pets, so I received a few commissions. As more people saw the portraits, I got more and more commissions. I started raising the price, created an Instagram page for my business, and even promoted it at an art market. I enjoy making money doing what I love, but I primarily make these portraits because I have so much fun capturing the soul and character of each pet in the unique medium of felt. I love the reactions of the pet owners, too. People adore their pets so much; when they get a realistic portrait immortalizing a pet, I love seeing their excitement and joy. It feels particularly special when people receive a portrait of a pet that passed away as the portrait revives their spirit, and the 3D aspect of the felt brings them to life in a way. My love of needle-felting has shaped my artistic life. Even when I hit a creative block, I still find a way to be impassioned by the medium. Because of this, I’ve been able to improve at it constantly. When I put together a portfolio for an art and product design application for college, I found that over half the portfolio included needle-felted pieces or aspects. When I got into the competitive program I applied for, I felt I had to thank all the effort I put into my needle-felting skills. From initially struggling with felting more than I had with any other medium to having it become my favorite art form, needle felting has taught me to stick with things I’m interested in even when they are difficult. I know not to give up on something before I can truly assess whether it's right for me.

When I learned about the product design field, I was immediately intrigued. I have always been interested in innovation and creative problem-solving, but I also love art and want a career where I can utilize my artistic and hands-on skills. Ever since I can remember I’ve been deeply passionate about art and have used my skills to create both functional and decorative designs. When I notice shortcomings with products or apparel, my first thought is how to improve them. I’ve been inspired by art and nature throughout my life. Each of them plays into my future goals and career plans. I want to major in product design in college and learn about creating sustainable designs to reduce the amount of pollution produced by products and manufacturing. Sustainability is important to me. When doing art, I use recycled materials as often as I can and use older materials before buying new things. I have bins of fabrics that I’ve salvaged from old curtains, clothes, and friends getting rid of pieces. I regularly raid the recycling bin for cardboard materials and see creative potential in many discarded objects. So many of the products and commodities in the world are highly polluting and unsustainable. As a product designer, I will do my part designing and promoting environmentally friendly products. My goal is to work as a product designer for a company that interests me and go on to open my own sustainable business with the skills I acquire. I currently sell commissioned portraits made of felt and I’ve developed my endeavor into a small business. I’ve already begun gaining beginner-level experience operating a small business and I see myself doing it at a larger scale in the future. The world is full of incredible innovations, as well as many problems that are awaiting a creative solution and ideas waiting to be uncovered. The idea of creating brand-new solutions and creations while putting my art and designs out into the world fills me with excitement and anticipation. As a product designer, I will do my part designing and promoting environmentally friendly products and bringing new innovations into the world. I plan to go to college to learn more about business and product design. I’ve challenged myself with difficult classes–like AP art, pre-calculus, and AP European History–and put immense effort into my school work and extracurriculars–like band, art, lacrosse, and ultimate frisbee–throughout my life because I want to learn the skills that will help me succeed post-high school. I knew my hard work would help me get into the colleges I was interested in and get scholarships to help me fund it. Getting scholarships and going to college will help me succeed as a product designer.