Hi, I’m Hazel. I’m 18, currently a high school student in Canada, and the founder of DreamCraft.

This project didn’t start as a startup idea. It started with my mom.

Growing up, my dad was often away for work—sometimes for weeks, even months. He provided for our family, and I know how hard he worked. But at home, it was mostly just my mom, alone, raising the four of us. She worked during the day and came home to more work: dinner, homework, emotional support, everything. And at night—when she should’ve been able to rest—she couldn’t.

I would see her sit on the couch, silent, eyes tired. When she finally went to bed, she would often wake up still exhausted. Sleep didn’t restore her—it was just an extension of everything she carried. She rarely dreamed. And when she did, she said they weren’t peaceful. I didn’t have the words to describe what I saw back then, but now I do: emotional fatigue. Sleep as survival, not as healing.

Sleep isn’t just a physical need—it’s emotional. It’s where we store our pain, replay our fears, and sometimes, if we’re lucky, find comfort. I wanted to give that comfort to her. Not just as a daughter, but as someone who believes that science and empathy should coexist.

DreamCraft is my response to that belief.

It’s a sleep wearable, yes. But it’s more than that. It’s a bridge between science, emotional wellness, and poetic experience. A sleep mask that doesn’t just block light, but actively helps shape your dreams through gentle, non-invasive stimulation: soundscapes, temperature modulation, scents, and bone conduction audio. The goal isn’t control—it’s care. To gently influence the emotional atmosphere of your dreams.

The idea evolved as I got more interested in neuroscience. I began reading papers about lucid dreaming, EEG signals, scent memory, and non-invasive neural stimulation. I started sketching, prototyping, and reaching out to professors. As a teenage girl, I was often ignored. But I kept building. With help from AI tools and open-source communities, I developed DreamCraft Core, the first emotional dream enhancement system that combines:

• EEG brainwave sensors

• Scent dispersal linked to dream phase

• Bone conduction speakers for ambient emotional soundscapes

• Temperature regulation via Peltier elements

• A soft, luxury-inspired ergonomic design that fits like a high-end sleep accessory

And yes, it’s still early. We’re not a huge team—just me, and some amazing online mentors and supporters. But the vision is clear.

This is also about showing what’s possible for young women in STEM.

As a girl interested in engineering and neuroscience, I often found myself being told to “stay realistic” or focus on easier goals. But I don’t believe innovation should be left to tech bros in Silicon Valley. I believe empathy is a form of intelligence. And I believe girls who care about their families can also change the future of technology.

I know I’m just one student. But I also know that some of the best ideas in the world started with love—not ambition. And that makes all the difference.

With your help, we’ll use the funds to:

• Finalize hardware prototyping

• Manufacture early units in Canada with ethical suppliers

• Complete our companion app (DreamCraft Core and Luxe)

• Launch testing and open research on dream safety and emotional effect

• Offer community-based storytelling for users to share their dreams

My mom is still my first user. She cried the first night she wore our earliest prototype and woke up saying, “I felt held.”

That’s what I want to bring to the world.

We don’t need more tech for the sake of tech. We need tools that make us feel more human.

DreamCraft isn’t just a product. It’s a message: that dreams deserve to be soft, safe, and shaped with love.

Thank you for helping me build this. Thank you for believing in a girl with a heart full of science, and a head full of dreams.

Hazel