The beads, cord and other crafty supplies already filled up her room and most available spaces around the house.
So Harper Adams had a thought — what if she could use her supplies to do something good.
The 7-year-old Franklin resident had markers and crayons, construction paper of all colors and a little bit of everything. She liked to make gifts for people and use her talents to make people smile.
And she had a good idea to lift the spirits of some of her classmates at Creekside Elememtary School.
“I like to help people,” she said. “It makes me very happy to do this.”
Harnessing her creative spirit and her desire to help others, Harper’s Helping Hands was born. Harper spends her time making colorful handmade silicone bead wristlets, bracelets, keychains, lanyards and pens, selling those items around the community.
The proceeds from the project go towards helping pay for lunch for Creekside students when they need a little extra support.
“It was nice to give her art a purpose. And Harper doesn’t like it if she feels like anything isn’t fair for someone else, especially classmates,” said Teddi Adams, Harper’s grandmother and guardian. “She couldn’t stand the thought of not everybody having the same. So she wanted to make sure everyone had lunch.”
Harper’s efforts have garnered admiration and support throughout the community; since starting the project in early April, she’s already raised more than $500.
“We are very proud of Harper. At Creekside we have the Cougar Creed and she is living that each day being a caring and respectful citizen and also treating others as she would wish to be treated,” said Mark Heiden, principal at Creekside Elementary School.
The beaded designs come in all shades, shapes, styles and characters. Pastel daisies are accented by color-coordinated beads on funky keychains. A bright-green cactus tops a stack of geometric beads on one of her pens. A variety of footballs, baseballs, basketballs, volleyballs and others form a ring-shaped designed.
Bins filled with every type of bead imaginable, plus lanyard cords, metal keychain pieces, plain pens and much more fill containers throughout her house. Containers filled with finished products are laid out for craft events and other community activities where Harper plans to sell her goods.
Expressing herself through creativity is important to Harper, who is the daughter of Cara Orner and Trevor Adams of Franklin.
“Harper loves to do arts and crafts. We had all kinds of her art and crafts everywhere, so we were brainstorming what to do with it,” Adams said. “She also loves to help people, so we kind of came up with this idea. She latched on to it and went crazy.”
Adams helped Harper get started on her business venture. She showed her 7-year-old granddaughter how to make a few colorful, cute designs people might want to buy.
After that, Harper’s creativity took off.
“I started out just copying (Adams), but then I was doing my own ideas,” she said.
At first, Harper used her own art supplies to make her various goodies through Harper’s Helping Hands. To supplement those supplies, her grandmother set up an Amazon Wishlist, where people could help buy packages of cartoon character and silicone beads, as well as other materials.
On April 11 and 12, Harper’s Helping Hands has its debut. She set up at Johnson County Shrine Club, where her grandfather is a member, rustling up business among other club members with a whimsical table display and her own bubbly personality.
“That was where I got more than $400 — I just thought, oh my gosh, that’s so much,” Harper said. “People have started buying more and more.”
All of Harper’s products are $5 — which makes it easier to count and keep track of her sales. Adams has helped her organize all of her supplies and proceeds
Harper turned in the first batch of money raised through her business on April 23. Meeting with Heiden and a group of food services staff, she presented them with a box filled with $520 collected through her different fundraisers.
The adults also took time to pose for pictures with the Creekside first-grader, and to buy some of her products in support of the cause.
“Harper is being a ‘bucketfiller.’ I am proud that she has found a way to help others through her own talents,” Heiden said.
Since then, she also hosted a pop-up shop at C&C Automotive in Franklin and received permission to have a table at a variety of Franklin concerts and other events in the coming weeks. She’ll be part of the Wellness 360 Fair, put on by FCS Connect on May 10.
“We’re just trying to find different spots where people don’t mind where she sets up,” Adams said.
As word has spread about her efforts, Harper’s Helping Hands is capturing attention from the Franklin community and people throughout Johnson County. The support has been surprising, and Harper is thankful for everyone who has purchased items from her, helped with her Amazon Wishlist or simply gave her some encouraging words.
She has no plans to stop her purposeful beading any time soon.
“It means a lot to be able to do this for my friends,” she said. “I’m going to keep doing it as long as I can.”