Design Students, Rising Entrepreneurs Collaborate on Real-World Products
June 14, 2021
Contact: Office of Advancement and External Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
For their capstone project, three master's students in The University of Baltimore's Integrated Design program—Jasmine Loyal, Richard Neal and Nett Smith—worked with Rebecca Thompson (pictured, right), an Entrepreneurship Fellow, to come up with and test the business name Thompson adopted.
Crate Craft & Co. is a DIY craft subscription box service that brings creativity to your doorstep with curated craft projects and provides community through engaging classes and social programs. In preparing a suite of design and branding elements for the company, the group also researched core values, target audiences, competition and social marketing design and techniques.
"The project allowed me to better understand what is expected when I am providing similar services to start-ups and established businesses looking to rebrand themselves," Neal says. "I will forever remember this experience as one that shaped my ability to develop marketing materials in a professional sense."
Several Integrated Design students partnered with student entrepreneurs in a now three-year-old collaboration between the two UBalt programs, one a part of UBalt's Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences and the other a part of the University's Merrick School of Business. This design team won best in show following their capstone presentation. Judges praised the branding, pattern and colors, fonts, functionality and website.
"Before finding out that we won, I was totally satisfied with the outcome of the project itself," Neal says. "I knew we worked as hard as we could as a team to get the project done and if we didn't win, we would get a good grade in the course. Now that I know the result, I feel relieved that the hard work paid off and we have valuable experience for the future moving forward in our careers."
Following is a Q&A with Thompson, founder of Crate Craft & Co. and a Business Administration student in the Merrick School of Business.
How did the work these design students did help your business?
Thompson: It brought my business to life. I enjoyed every part of this collaboration. As a startup, you never really know if your concept is clear. I was pleased to see they understood and absolutely nailed it. I adored the packaging and can't wait to start using it in my future launch.
How do you describe your business?
Crate Craft & Co. turns fun, easy-to-follow DIY projects into online parties! First, we provide customers with kits containing everything needed for a project. Then, we host live online group instruction parties, completing the project together, while drinking wine and socializing! We deliver fun and the ability to create from the comfort of a relaxing space directly to your door.
I have been doing DIY for years, primarily furniture refurbishment. When I first started doing furniture refurbishment, the hardest part was figuring out all the items needed to reconstruct a piece. What paint should I use? What grit sandpaper is needed? If I struggle with this ... how many others do, too? That is when the light bulb turned on. I have been a logistic specialist for years, and have streamlined this process for myself; why not do it for others? I know people love DIY and more might love it too if the process was streamlined for them.
My goal is to gain first mover advantage in this space and create the gold standard for DIY.
What do you think of the idea of partnering UBalt's entrepreneurs with UBalt design students?
It's a mutually beneficial endeavor, which I love. It gets them experience in the field and helped me to elevate my business. For example, I haven't tackled packaging yet and they did that for me, which saved me a ton of time. I would encourage every UBalt entrepreneur to apply for this partnership it's such an amazing opportunity.
Rebecca Thompson also was one of the winners of UBalt's 2021 Rise to the Challenge business pitch competition. She won $5,000 for Best Existing Business Venture.
UBalt's Entrepreneurship Fellows program, thanks to the Philip E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation, helps student entrepreneurs fully fund four semesters of their education (and some other expenses) while also supporting their business venture. The program is currently accepting applications from rising juniors for the fall 2021 cohort.