Students with small businesses sell their handmade goods during the school day in the Hutchison library. Jewelry, paintings, and stickers are only some of the things sold at Hutchison’s Holiday House. Holiday House is an annual holiday market for Hutchison students with small businesses to sell their goods and learn about entrepreneurship. Students received an interest survey and were found via social media to participate in Holiday House.

 Signature programs coordinator Makayla Boswell said, “I stalked them on instagram to figure out who had small businesses and set up workshops for the vendors to learn about presenting and selling their work.” Each vendor attended workshops and received tips for setting up art with easels and using jewelry holders.

 “I learned a lot about pricing my art at the workshops,” said Lilly Rower, owner and creator of @lillyrdesignshop. The vendors get to keep one hundred percent of the money they make at Holiday House. They also learn how to be smart with their money and how to interact with people to make the best sales. 

Lilly Rower, one of the seven Hutchison girls that participated in Holiday House, sells canvases, wooden boards, coasters that she hand designs. She uses a Adobe Sketch and Procreate on her Ipad to make the designs. “Then I put it on a thick paper and onto a canvas,” says Rower. She created twenty two canvases in preparation for Holiday House. “I get most of my supplies from Micheals and Amazon,” added Rower. Most of the other vendors also get their supplies from art stores around Memphis or online.

“Just make a plan and go for it,” says Rower. Her advice to other high school students wanting to start a small business is “to find something that you enjoy and keep at it.” Creating a small business in high school is a great creative outlet and way to make money. Boswell says, “There are benefits to having a small business in highschool. You learn how to work on deadlines, make a profit, and display your work.”