Crafterpreneur Day will provide those with a passion for crafting the chance to turn their favorite hobby into a successful start-up company Friday, Feb. 28.
The free event is open to all students, regardless of how much experience they have with starting a small business or with crafting in general. Common types of crafts students often contribute include knit and crochet crafts as well as homemade jewelry and sewing projects. Art makers are also welcome, with past participants showcasing printmaking, painting and drawing.
This is the second time LaunchNET has hosted this event which takes place from 1-4 p.m. at the Design Innovation Hub room 240.
“We’re going to have one speaker focusing on how to brand your crafting business, one who’s focusing more on marketing your crafting business and then finally I’ll be doing a presentation on sales channels and pricing for crafterpreneurs,” said Kaitlyn Phillips, a LaunchNET advisor of about three years.
Each LaunchNET employee giving a panel for the event has experience in “crafterpreneurship” through projects like their own small businesses. The speakers will share their first-hand knowledge of specific aspects of starting a business, like identifying one’s brand values, using social media for marketing and accurately pricing the products.
Phillips, for example, founded her business HyAndHook in 2022 through which she sells crochet items. Her goal is to provide a new generation of crafters with crochet products and patterns inspired by pop culture moments and current fashion trends that are affordable, relatable and visually accessible, according to her website.
In between the three panels, the event will also feature a tote bag decorating activity to give attendees a hands-on crafting experience. Free food will be provided to attendees, as well. Crafterpreneur Day offers a networking opportunity and a chance to meet other students with an interest in crafting or business ventures.
“It’s a great way to network and learn more because being an entrepreneur, in general, no matter if you’re a crafting entrepreneur or doing something completely different, it’s a constant learning process and you can learn something from everybody you interact with,” Phillips said.
Even established “crafterpreneurs” can still benefit from coming to events like these to expand their brand and interact with potential investors, collaborators and clients.
“So, even if somebody shows up who’s a little bit more advanced, they’re already bringing in revenue, they have a really solid brand image, maybe they can still learn something from networking with people,” Phillips said.
At the end of the day, Phillips said she hopes Crafterpreneur Day helps attendees walk away with a little bit of hope for their “crafterpreneur” journey and allows them to continue expanding on their ideas.
“I think a lot of people get scared of trying to monetize their art or their crafts for a number of reasons,” Phillips said. “Because they think, ‘Oh, am I really going to make money off of this?’ ‘Oh, will I end up hating my craft because I assign this monetary value to it?’”
Crafterpreneur Day seeks to show its attendees that forming a business around a hobby doesn’t have to take all the fun out of it, but can present an exciting new challenge and a means of showing the world the extent of one’s talents.
To get involved with LaunchNET, students can visit the website or email [email protected] to inquire about becoming a client and setting up a meeting to discuss a potential or existing business. They can also see what upcoming events are available for non-clients to attend.
Olivia Weber is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].