ZOA
ZOA, the Greek word for animals, is an ongoing project that I started when I was young and keep iterating. It began as an interest in caring for endagered animals, so I used to draw, paint, and create other crafts focusing on animals and wanted to start a t-shirt company to raise awareness and money to then donate to animal foundations. Once I began my college career at NYU, I was introduced to the NYU MakerSpace where I learned how to laser cut, CNC mill, and more. I loved working with these machines, so I decided to incorporate my childhood passion project and make prototypes of items with a focus on endagered animals as a few of my first projects at the MakerSpace.
My inspiration for these designs were based off Quibe, who is a French artist that designs with using only one line. I wanted my own style, so I also designed with one line, but made my art geometric.
My projects feature simple, geometric designs of endangered animals using physical materials to promote education and endangerment prevention.
ZOA Bear Laser Cut Home Decor
The first project in this series was of a bear. I used an Epilog Laser Cutter to cut acrylic. To create the digital portion of the design, I used Adobe Illustrator. I have made this item in different sizes with multiple colors of acrylic and types of wood. A larger cut, which is roughly two feet wide, takes about 40 minutes to cut because of the intricate lines.
ZOA Bear Necklace
I've always been very interested in making jewelry, so after making a few pieces using the Bantam Tools Othermill, I decided that I should turn my ZOA Bear design into a necklace! I used an upcycled PCB board, which is normally used to make a circut board, and milled out my design. It took about 12 minutes to cut out. After cleanining it up, I added the chain.
Next Steps
I am working on many more designs for 18 new animals and planning to finish those up soon. Since we can't sell items created in the NYU MakerSpace, I planned sell the designs as stickers, t-shirts, tote bags, and more, and ultimately gain access to a laser cutter or Othermill in the future. I hoped for ZOA to become a non-profit so all proceeds can go to helping endangered species while promoting awareness. After building it up, I wanted to add more more designs that help different social causes.
Features:
Apartment Therapy Article
Youtube Interview
NYU MakerSpace Article