Pasadena Waldorf School Alumnus Begins New Career as Artist / Designer

Anne Harriger recently began selling her designs on Etsy.com after a chance meeting with a former instructor from LA’s Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM). She had attended FIDM immediately after completing her senior year of Seattle Waldorf High School. When asked about her inspiration for her product and materials, Harriger states: “It is all Waldorf.” A self-professed visionary, this confident young woman is determined to make her cultural mark as an artist and designer.

Harriger attended Pasadena Waldorf School until seventh grade, eventually moving to Washington and completing her Waldorf education there. For several years following her degree from FIDM, she has worked in the fitness industry, but in her words realized that “sometimes in life, you have to take a few steps back in order to move forward. By going back you can see just how far you’ve come and what made you who you are today. For me I will always go back to the years I spent in Waldorf education, especially the younger years I spent at the Pasadena Waldorf School. Waldorf prepared me for the years to come. I had the skills and the knowledge to excel in life and put any dreams, passions or visions I had into action. As a Waldorf graduate, I was confident, passionate, accepting, and loyal. I stayed true to myself right from the start. FIDM gave me the tools and (understanding of the) business aspect of the industry but Waldorf is where I learned to express myself visually, to be unique, to follow my heart and trust the process. Waldorf enhanced my ability to transform the ordinary into extraordinary.”

Marketing her brand as “Anne Sumona,” — www.etsy.com/shop/AnneSumona — she opened a virtual store on Etsy to sell her handmade accessories, which lead to a collaboration with the pop artist Emii (Emily Rose Morrison). The two are working together to design the wardrobe to use in the upcoming music video shoot for Emii’s current single, “Time To Move On”. Harriger will also work as a stylist behind the scenes and have a small appearance in the video, which is scheduled to shoot in April.

Pasadena Waldorf School, founded in 1979, is one of over 1,000 Waldorf schools worldwide with over 90 years of experience offering inspired education. Pasadena Waldorf High School, which opened this year, joins 40 other Waldorf high schools now operating in North America. Waldorf education is the fastest growing independent school movement in the world.