When 12-year-old Madison Keathley was feeling crafty, she stumbled upon a contest online that asked kids to design an outfit for stuffed animals.

“I’ve always been interested in design, Madison said.

The whim paid off. She won the grand prize in Build-a-Bear Workshop’s Furbulous Fashion Design Contest for her outfit designed for the stuffed bear named “Bearemy” in mind. She learned about her success just before the winners were announced in early July.

“This is the first time I’ve won anything like this,” she said, adding that she was surprised and excited.

She enjoys drawing and sketching, and for the contest she used markers and colored pencils to draw over the template provided by the company. She designed an outfit complete with a letter jacket and jeans. Sneakers with the company logo completed the look.

At first, Madison thought she had won a small gift card to Build-a-Bear Workshop, a store where kids of any age may buy a stuffed animal and stuff it, and can add clothes and accessories.

Thousands of entries were accepted from the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland. Only a handful of winners were selected.

Madison will receive a $125 gift card to the store, but she will also enjoy a four-day trip to New York City for the Thanksgiving Day Parade and a $5,000 scholarship. She will also get a stuffed-animal size version of her design.

The incoming seventh-grader at Pikes Peak Christian School said her friends are happy for her, and also surprised. She has always liked fashion and what’s trendy, she said, and plans to attend school to pursue a career in the industry.

She hopes to attend Parsons School of Design or the Fashion Institute of Technology, both are in New York. Madison also is eager to enter more contests in the future, said mom Sharon Siedler-Keathley.

—

Contact Kristina Iodice: 636-0162 Twitter @GazetteKristina Facebook Kristina Iodice