Art

Dara Frankelscheier Adkison, Studio Art Major, Class of 2007, is a Plush Toy Designer at Wild Republic, headquartered in Twinsburg, Ohio. She was recently promoted to the position of Natural Toy Specialist, utilizing her skills as a designer and her knowledge of natural and organic materials and manufacturing. Wild Republic is best known for their educational and innovative nature-based toys and plush available worldwide in zoos, museums, aquariums, etc. Dara writes, “My job is split between designing new product lines and handling communications from start to finish with our factories and licensing agents. I spent the better part of January, 2009 visiting our factories in China and India, working on our new product lines, and encouraging production.

When I came back, it was right back to work on an innovative line of organic plush for 2010. The knowledge I have acquired and the opportunities I have had with Wild Republic have made my job very rewarding. I know that the work ethic I developed during my senior comprehensive project has been a big help to me. It helped teach me how to balance hundreds of little projects at once, a skill I utilise every day. However, the best part of my job is knowing that someone is having fun with something I created at Wild Republic”. For more information on Wild Republic, please visit their Web site here.