Wheat-thins eaters in Wilmington may recognize one of their neighbors on the box this fall: a local woman is one of five winners of a nationwide talent contest sponsored by the company.
By Megan V. Williams
Wilmington, NC – Apryle Negron's dreams have wings - fairy wings.
The North Carolina native started crafting her airy visions out of fabric and wire during her first year of college, bringing her fantasies to life as she coped with the death of her mother and the loneliness of leaving home.
Over the years, she's made wings for friends and family, held her own 'fairytale wedding,' and wowed coworkers with her Halloween costumes.
But it wasn't until after the birth of her daughter earlier this year that Negron found a wider audience.
Negron was spending a of time at home, and eating a lot of Wheat Thins. At the time, Nabisco, the company that makes the cracker, was running a contest asking women to describe their creative outlets. After her third box, Negron finally sat down and entered.
"I just thought is was a great way for me to possibly inspire other women to find out what balances them and gives them peace in their lives," Negron said, "It took five minutes to get online, type up a little essay, submit a picture. And the rest is history."
Negron doesn't sell her fairy wings; she thinks commercializing her hobby would take the fun out of what's now a mindless, meditative hobby. Instead she just plays around with the designs, refining her technique and trying a few experiments.
"There was one time I made a completely wire set of wings," she remembers, laughing, "I mean they were like five feet long, and I webbed the wire all in there, but I realized after wearing it one evening, that I cut myself completely up on the wire."
She admits to being glad her first child was a girl; during the pregnancy, her husband extracted a promise that, if the child were a boy, he wouldn't be wearing any wings.
April Negron and her fairy wings will appear on a Wheat Thins box later this fall.