Last year, senior Stephanie Goldman enrolled in Fiber Arts, a course in embroidery, quilt-making and other sewing techniques. Just a semester later, she found herself in a paying career that she hopes to continue into adulthood. She came by such a rare opportunity in an unusual field: Goldman makes and sells stuffed animals.

Her unique calling began very much as an accident, with the early completion of a quilt due later in the semester. “I needed something to work on,” Goldman said. “So I went online and found a very simple four-piece bear pattern.” So began an enterprise that would lead her to many other animal creations.

Goldman displays and sells her creations at Cloud 9 Critters, the online store that she created to market her work. The site displays blue striped sock monkeys and small purple bears, each carefully photographed from several angles for the customer to view.

The business aspect of Goldman’s hobby began upon discovering the successes of other people who sewed animals. “I discovered this site called Etsy and it’s like eBay, except that you don’t bid on things and it’s all for hand-made crafts,” she said. “I made an account around Thanksgiving this year and started selling my animals.”

Many of Goldman’s teachers have bought her stuffed animals and were impressed with both her artistic dexterity and business sense. “I have seen her animals and they are very cute,” social studies teacher Dawna Linsdell said. “I think it’s fantastic for students to have experiences like Stephanie running her own business because it is experiential learning about life skills for success: creativity, problem-solving, hard work, managing money, communication, risk taking [and] responsibility.”

Social studies teacher Alice McCraley has bought Goldman’s creations and enjoys giving them as gifts. “I liked them because they are cute and they look and feel very soft and cuddly,” she said.

While Goldman’s interest in making stuffed animals came with her Fiber Arts class, her interest in bears came long before. “I’ve always loved bears,” she said. “And once it started selling I realized that when I was in third or fourth grade my friend and I had gotten a teddy-bear making kit and made a bear, and I really liked doing that.”

Goldman said she plans on continuing to create stuffed animals in the future. She hopes, if possible, to get at least a partial income from it, but she said it is a competitive field. “It’s hard to make a go of stuffed animals,” she said. “There’s so much online and so much experience and they all say it’s hard to make a go of it.”

Still, Goldman said revenues remain steady. “I’ve sold about eight online so far and I sold some at a holiday sale,” she said. “I’ve also sold some around campus.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information, visit Goldman's online store.