Something special // Friday

Most kids’ grade-school art projects get thrown onto their parents’ refrigerator (and often later into the trash). For a group of lucky fifth through ninth graders, their hand-drawn designs are landing a spot in the “home” section of Crate & Barrel.

The local nonprofit Fresh Artists has teamed up with the national retail store to create a line of quilts, shams, sheets, and pillows, all designed by students from Philadelphia, Camden, and Norristown schools struggling with massive financial cuts. Called the Artistic Bedding Collection by Fresh Artists for Crate & Barrel, the line is set to officially launch Monday.

“We want to show kids that art can turn into a job,” says Barbara Chandler Allen, founder of Fresh Artists. “We’re giving them an insight into what jobs look like in the creative economy.”

Read more about this amazing opportunity for my former students Olivia, Jose, Caprice, and Soloman here.