Meet Willa Wang | youth artist and entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Willa Wang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Willa, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I am currently a 9th grader in high school, and I have always loved to make art. In seventh grade, I had an incredible trip to South Africa where I saw the most amazing wildlife. After coming back, I realized how fortunate I was to be able to see these animals in their natural habitat. I started sketching the wildlife I saw during the COVID pandemic. Inspired by what I saw, I tried to volunteer for a number of wildlife conservation opportunities, but was rejected due to my young age. After that, I decided to create my own opportunity to help wildlife by combining my passion for art and animals. From that, Willa Miette Studio was born.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My artistic style is highly graphic and detailed. I focus on animals that need protection or conservation, and try to create a connection between people and nature with my art. I use eco-conscious materials and donate 10% of my profits to wildlife conservation. As a young person who was interested in starting a business, I connected with a program called YouthBiz through the Young Americans Center for Financial Education. The YouthBiz program encourages young entrepreneurship, and showed me how to start and develop my business. From there, I branched out to different markets and stores to showcase my products. Scheduling my time between work and school and other activities has not always been easy, and learning how to best use social media to advertise my products has been challenging. I have a mentor, Anna Graves from The Field Academy, and many other kind people who have been willing to offer advice. I have learned that it costs more money to stick with my eco-conscious brand approach, but it is worth it to stick with my ideals. From my experience with being unable to volunteer at my age, I learned that there is always a way to push past failure and other barriers.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to my favorite boutiques on South Broadway, in the Highlands, and in RiNo. I enjoy Fancy Tiger Crafts, recital, and Metalmark jewelry to name a few. I would definitely take them to Meow Wolf and possibly an escape room through EscapeWorks. For meals and drinks, I enjoy Root Down, YumCha, and The Molecule Effect.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I found support through two teachers at my school. One day I was sketching during math class and was busted by my teacher. Instead of getting mad, he asked to see more of my work. He then encouraged me to translate them into something more. My other teacher was supportive as I was building the business aspect. She had her own business and helped to answer some of the logistics of getting started.

Website: willamiettestudio.com

Instagram: @willamiettestudio