Monticello youth wins State Fair t-shirt design contest

     Monticello High School sophomore Lily Moestchen was named the first-place winner of the Iowa State Fair t-shirt design contest.

   Moestchen was one out of a total of 46 design entries.

   On May 8, she received word that her design made it into the top six. From there, the top six were revealed and public voting took place May 8 through 15 via Facebook and the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation website.

   On May 15, Moestchen received the exciting news that her t-shirt design was the first-place winner!

   “It surprised me,” she said of her reaction to winning. “It felt good.”

   Throughout the lunch period at school, Moestchen’s cell phone was blowing up with text messages.

   “I thought, ‘What’s going on?’”

   People were congratulating her.

   “That’s when I knew I won,” she said.

   Throughout the online voting, Moestchen’s t-shirt design and the person who ended up winning second place were tied for a lot of the voting period. At the end of the day, Moestchen garnered 2,400 votes.

   Moestchen actually didn’t know about the State Fair t-shirt contest until her bus driver, Jani Telleen mentioned it one day.

   Having designed t-shirts for MHS Post Prom the past two years, Moestchen felt this was a contest she’d be good at.

   “I like to create different brands and designs,” she said. “It’s fun to see what I can come up with. Sometimes, it’s just a basic idea.”

   Her State Fair design is a simple outline image of sweet corn in green and yellow with the words “Iowa State Fair: The Best Days Ever.”

   “I knew I wanted to include corn because corn represents Iowa best,” Moestchen said.

   She also played around with different fonts to see what worked best.

   Moestchen initially put together five completely different designs and had her mom, Nicole, pick her favorite.

   “I always ask my mom for help if I have too many ideas,” she said. “She thought the corn design got the point across.”

   Now, Moestchen’s design will be printed on t-shirts and sold at the State Fair merchandise stands along with other State Fair souvenirs. Beginning June 1, the top six shirt designs will be sold online via the Blue Ribbon Foundation. The online store will remain open until June 30.

   Moestchen is no stranger to the Iowa State Fair. Her family went when she was younger; last year, following the Great Jones County Fair, she went down for her Horticulture and Static 4-H projects.

   “I like walking through the different buildings and seeing what they have,” recalled Moestchen. “And there are a lot of food choices.”

   This year, through FFA, she applied to be a grandstand usher at the State Fair, a tradition Moestchen’s mom did as well when she was involved in FFA. The job entails distributing fair programs throughout the stands and helping people to their seats.

   The Iowa State Fair runs Aug. 10 through 20.