Connect What is your favorite type of art to create?

I make art I can feel without staying inside a box. I didn’t use fire to look cool; I used it because I couldn’t draw. Heating a pocket knife and burning lines into felt quieted my anxiety around creating. I’m drawn to imperfect, personal work that tells a story. I taught myself hat-making in a public library and my parents’ backyard, grinding a tree stump into a makeshift block. Now I use real tools, but it’s still just me, steam, and the need to make something honest.

Where do you find inspiration?

Inspiration is everywhere for me, like the city, texture, worn walls, and brick. It also comes from how I was raised: try it yourself, no rules, no one telling you what it should be. That’s how my style became my own. I make pieces people aren’t afraid to live in, wear hard, drop, and let them get better with time. What goes on each hat comes from people. Everyone has a story. I listen, then turn that into something you can wear.

What would you do with $25,000?

I’d keep it simple and take the pressure off so I can focus on the work and keep improving. I’d use part of it to build a small, hands-on space for creating. I used to work with kids on the spectrum, and I’ve seen how creativity builds confidence, focus, and new ways of learning. I’d want to create something like that. Not just for them, but for anyone who hasn’t had the chance or resources to try. Something real for the community.