Leimert Park native and artisan, Joaquin Marcel (Horton) seeks to abolish the stigma strictly associating pipe cleaners with arts & crafts. His mission is to elevate the artform beyond its stereotype into the realm of contemporary arts.His career began as a teen entrepreneur. Joaquin's product Fuzzy Stix was a kit containing pipe cleaners and instructions on how to make figurines and toys. To fund his company he designed and sold custom phone cases, headphones, and baby mobiles. His persistence culminated in being featured as one of ABC-7's Cool Kids during his visit to Mattel Children's Hospital to teach patients how to build pipe cleaner designs.It wasn’t until he completed his life size Michael Jackson piece that he found his passion as an artisan, currently designing sculptors, and 2D/3D canvas art.