I joined the Clark Tank Competition this past fall semester and for the chance to compete in February of 2022. As the competition has concluded I am proud to announce that I was awarded $750 to reinvest into Haley's Handmades!
With this investment I plan to take more metal smithing classes at my local craft center. I began taking jewelry smithing classes this past January to expand my craft and so that I can begin to offer more mediums in jewelry.
To read more about the Clark Tank competition and the other competitors and their business ventures follow this link!
This was my first ever competition and true involvement with the entrepreneurship and innovation program. While I am thankful for their support and funding I am left with a few reflections.
Being a creative, a maker, and someone with a craft is incredibly difficult in a capitalist world. I am incredibly thankful to have the ability to support myself with my art however it is a difficult space to inhabit in a world that values high production and even higher profits. Creating is a very personal journey of unwinding, and polymer clay was the hobby I picked up to be able to work on anxiety inducing perfectionist tendencies. Therefore, being evaluated and judged so publicly on my business was incredibly intimate for me. I am proud of my accomplishment but even more so I am beyond excited for the future and growth of skills.
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