Philippe-Henri Apollon

The Product Design at Montclair State University is the only reason I decided to go back to university and get a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. If it wasn’t for such a wonderful major mixing design, engineering, and creativity all together I would not have a good enough reason to put myself through the educational environment that I have been putting up with my whole life so far.

I have an Associates in Design and run my own fashion house/studios focusing on handcrafted jewelry, apparel, and visual arts: BBLACC STUDIOS. That brand alone requires most of the free time I’ve created for myself after completing my Associates; and, thank God I am a seasoned enough artist and entrepreneur to be able not only to handle it but to realize that university homeworks could hinder the progress I could’ve made with that same time. But I am passionate about hands-on application to my crafts, and about making a positive change wherever I go and however I can.

Upon starting my time at Montclair State, which was the most optimal option since I have family members who graduated from there and I currently reside in New Jersey, I have met great fellow creatives in the same field who not only have also already started creating their own design solutions but whom I find to be just as passionate and interesting as I am on multiple levels, their open mindedness, their intellect, and their devotion reassure and strengthen me in a couple of ways, I am glad to call them classmates and future colleagues.

My professors push me to be and do better regularly with creative, challenging and innovative assignments all while making sure our mental stays healthy and in the right direction during the process, I do not feel left to my own devices, and the hands-on aspect of most of the work constantly rekindles my passion. Professor Farrage in particular has had an important impact on me over the Spring 2023 semester by reassuring me about what a product/industrial designer is, how one should think and operate, and I have found that it was that exact reason why I decided to enroll in the program in the first place.

To take this program away would be to hinder the dreams and motion of a Haitian-born young man who strived all his life to stay optimistic and bring positive/uplifting changes to the environment and world he progresses in. I am honored to be a designer, entrepreneur, and overall artist and would love to keep evolving in the product design field at Montclair State University.