By leslie
By Selena Hill, Black Enterprise
Nine-year-old Nevaeh Woods of Macomb County, Michigan, is one step closer to realizing her dreams of becoming a fashion designer.
Woods began creating custom designs for her Barbie dolls using household items like ribbons, socks, gemstones, scissors, and a hot glue gun, WDIV reports. Impressed by her daughter’s work, her mom, Sha’kvia Woods, decided to post a picture of her creations on Facebook.
“I just took pictures of them, so I was really amazed,” Woods said. “I shared it to Facebook and then I got a lot of my friends said make this public and when I made it public it just went viral.”
In addition to receiving hundreds of comments and nearly 10,000 likes, the photo of Nevaeh’s handmade doll dresses caught the attention of Mattel, the manufactures of Barbie. The toymaker reached out to Neveah and sent her a box full of different dolls, including the “You Can Be Anything Barbie.” The company also sent her a personalized note encouraging her to pursue her dreams. “We heard you love designing clothes. Here’s a couple of new additions to add to your collection. Always remember you can be anything. XOXO The Barbie Social Team,” it reads.
“I’m so excited, I’m so happy for her. Proud — just happy she can be an inspiration to many people young and old,” her mother said. “Just follow your dreams and do what you like to do.”
The young designer’s next goal is to one day “make really big beautiful dresses” for people as well.
You can find more of Neveah’s many creations on her YouTube channel, SaSha Sew Amazing.
This article originally appeared in Black Enterprise.
