Whiz Kid: The Cow Creator

It started with an idea. What if I could sell wooden cows while having fun and make money doing it?

That’s exactly what 8-year-old Justin Mead did. Justin attends Alamo Elementary and lives in Walnut Creek. He discovered that he could make hundreds of small, wooden cows and have them sold in refurbished cigarette vending machines across the country for a profit. The machines are owned by Art-O-Mat®, which strives to give artists exposure. 

Justin always knew that he was interested in art. This was a perfect opportunity to express himself in the form of small, playing-card-size cows.

“Art is really fun and you just get to paint how you feel, like a sad cow when I’m feeling sad or a happy cow when I’m feeling happy,” said Justin.

Justin has created 200 cows so far that have sold in locations such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas.

The cows sell for $5 in the refurbished vending machines across the country. For each cow that is bought, Justin receives $2.50, which adds up quickly on batches of 50 cows. His largest check that he received was $77. Quite a lot for an 8-year-old.

People often say that having a good time is priceless. For Justin, the money isn’t such a bad thing either.

“I really like getting the money because I can save it and and it’s a good opportunity because I really like art,” said Justin.

The cow-making process consists of four stages: brainstorming, designing, sending the design to owner to earn approval and then finally sitting down to build the cows.

In all, Justin has created four different types of cows. The Pink Cow, Cash Cow, Plain Cow and Moo-Moo Cow.

Sometimes, Justin stays up late to make cows after his younger siblings have gone to bed. In one case, Justin remembers having a babysitter who allowed him to make many cows.

“One night, our babysitter was here, and I was out of bed making cow designs like crazy,” said Justin.

Justin keeps busy in his free time with robot class and math club. Both extracurriculars help Justin keep the creative juices flowing when it comes to designing cows.

For the future, Justin sees himself making upwards of 1,000 cows by the time he’s done with his project. Soon, he plans to get his younger brother working on hippos.

Follow Justin's progress with his cows on his Facebook page.