Six-year-old Julian is vivacious, charismatic, and smart. He loves superheroes and video games. He also happens to have autism.
In summer 2018, Julian was chosen as the grand prize winner of a Cosmic Star Ceiling painted by Theresa and Alber Goldberg, owners of StarMakerFX. The prize was awarded as part of an Autism Awareness Month campaign sponsored by eBay, StarMakerFX, and Autism Speaks.
Turning off the lights in Julian’s room used to be a struggle. Now, thanks to StarMakerFX and this wonderful gift from eBay, Julian is actually excited to turn off the lights in his room at night, and we couldn’t have possibly asked for a greater gift. — Marie-Danielle Masa, Julian’s mom
StarMakerFX creates unique, hand-painted, glow-in-the-dark cosmic star ceilings. Their companion company, GloMania USA, sells specialty products, pigments, and paints on eBay to help fund the Goldberg’s passion of painting one-of-a-kind ceilings for children with special needs.
The following is an excerpt of a blog written by Julian’s mom, Marie-Danielle Masa, about the experience.
“Theresa and Alber arrived at our home in California, and I say this truthfully: just meeting them would have been prize enough. They are such a warm and sweet couple, and the work they do for these kiddos with special needs is so admirable and inspiring.
“Over the next few days, while Julian was away at therapy, the couple worked tirelessly on the ceiling. They were so mindful of our home and family, and it was a great honor getting to know them in the process.
“When the time came for the reveal, we could barely contain our excitement. We got the opportunity to convene with everyone that made the magic happen. Our local Ace Hardware generously donated the equipment needed for the project. Everyone that came—the photographer, the representative from eBay—was so sweet and so genuinely invested in our son’s reaction to his new ceiling.
“Oh, and what a reaction it was! We stuffed our family onto his bed, and counted to three…and we saw heaven coming to life above us. Julian exclaimed, ‘THIS IS SO COOL!’ and my husband and I were overcome with emotion.
“Theresa and Alber pointed out a dedicated star on the ceiling that they painted in honor of my father who passed away a couple of years ago. He and Julian shared a special connection, and knowing he has his Papa looking over him every night warms my heart so.”
