Project #4 began with a simple (and mildly unhinged) challenge: take random, found, upcycled materials—the kind of stuff most people wouldn’t think twice about throwing away—and force them into a tiny Christmas ornament. Not decorate the ornament. Not hang it. Stuff an entire character inside it.

My very first build project started as a simple challenge to create a robot from recycled materials quickly became something more. With no plan, no expectations, and a mandarin fruit cup at its center, a small robot emerged—along with an unexpected purpose. Born during Lunar New Year and shaped by chance, Luck-E the Mandarin marked the start of a creative journey where discarded objects became meaning, story, and art.