Student creator brings her design from the screen to life

Contributed Photo

Icie Wallace displays her products for people to see as they walk around in Downtown Troy.

Student Made is an organization that helps students with small businesses promote and sell their products.

The Student Made Store is a place where many student's creations stand on display. With 20 active creators involved with Student Made, shoppers can buy items ranging from clothing andcrochet work to art pieces.

Icie Wallace, a junior majoring in graphic design from Sylacauga, Alabama, is one of those creators.

"Student Made has been a really great way for me to make printed products that I've never really pushed myself to make before," Wallace said. “I've always wanted to make stickers of my art.

“I do a lot of digital work and traditional work, specifically watercolor and digitally-rendered pieces. I've been able to develop product lines centered around my own art.

Student Made has helped me to sell and market those sorts of things."

Wallace said she always had a passion for art but was discouraged from pursuing her interest.

"Growing up, I was always told that there was no career in art," Wallace said. "I was always afraid to pursue that, even though I've loved art for so long.

“However, I've realized that there are opportunities for fine artists and painters and illustrators. Whether it be book illustrations or editorial illustrations, I've really been able to pour in all the skills into graphic design.

It's made it a lot easier for me to make the projects I want, even in classes.”

While Wallace started selling stickers and prints in Student Made, another product of hers caught shoppers' attention.   

"I've also got a lot of ceramics work," Wallace said. "The ceramics work was something that I put into Student Made on a whim.

“Last semester, I was taking a ceramics class. Little did I know that that would actually end up being my best-selling item. “I've sold a majority of my ceramics work, and I've realized how much of a market there is for that in Troy. I'm hoping to make ceramics a bigger part of my business while also maintaining the stickers and prints because that is the core of what I do."

From the screen to the shelf, Wallace is proving that design is more than just aesthetic; it's personal and proudly local. To stay up to date with Wallace's art, you can follow her on Instagram, @the_way_icie_it.