photo courtesy of Maddie Bollman
Pins, stickers, cards, and goods galore: sophomore Maddie Bollman is a track and cross country star and has her own local business, MadCreationDesigns. Bollman excels in graphic design, running, and being an entrepreneur. MadCreationDesigns is an online shop where you can buy locally made and handcrafted cards, pins, stickers, and shirts.
Photo courtesy of Maddie Bollman
Bollman has always loved art. From painting to drawing to graphic design, she loves the idea of creating something entirely her own.
"Growing up I have always just kind of been into art,” Bollman said. “I like the idea of creating something that's your own, but I really started like exploring what I could do when COVID hit."
While COVID might have slowed some of us down, for Bollman, that's when she really started exploring her artistic talents.
"When COVID hit, I started taking online classes on design and graphic designing and stuff like that," said Bollman. "That's also when I started MadCreationDesigns," said Bollman.
While running her business, Bollman also focused on her love for the community by designing custom art for local businesses.
"I also design for businesses, like t-shirts and pins, and some businesses have reached out for shirt designs," said Bollman.
The Cross Country team also gave Bollman an outlet to pursue her artistic talents.
"This past year, the coaches and the captains asked me to design their shirts, their warm-up shirts, and hoodies," Bollman said. "So, I got the opportunity to design those for our team this year."
Maddie Bollman is also the fundraising officer for the WHS Sustainability Club. Bollman has designed numerous items for them including tote bags, pins, and she is currently working on a design for their hats. One of Bollman's biggest inspirations is to follow her dreams and open a business is her dad, owner of a local Boone coffee shop, Hatchet Coffee.
"I would say some of my biggest inspirations for life, are my parents being entrepreneurs. They really inspired me and guided me when I was first starting especially, with MadCreation,” said Bollman. “And so I think with them being like my first investors for supplies and also helping product photos and how to promote myself, that really inspired me because I always grew up seeing them do that. I think my family played the biggest role in helping me.”
While Bollman is currently not selling her products in stores such as Stick Boy, her online website is selling greeting cards and is always open for orders. You can visit here at www.madcreationdesigns.com. You can also place orders through her Instagram, @madcreationdesigns. Even though Bollman's business is small now, she hopes that someday her passion for art can support her for life.
"I see my business not as my goal but as my dream," she said. "My dream has always been being an artist as my full-time job. I think that if I can ultimately get to a point where I can support myself by doing something I love and something that I can put a lot of hard work into, but also enjoy and genuinely want to work and get better at. I think that that's the goal."
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