Lexie Shadix, Campus Carrier asst. arts and living editor
Mountain Day is the celebration of founder Martha Berry’s birthday. A number of events are hosted, including the Mountain Day Olympics, the picnic, the Grand March and the Mountain Day Market. The Mountain Day Market is a farmers market hosted on the Cage lawn and filled with student vendors. Students brought a variety of products to the market. There were crocheted creations, vegetables from Berry’s farms, jewelry, pastries and drinks. Any student was given the opportunity to be a vendor, and the market was open for all students, faculty and family to attend. The market saw seasoned small-business owners and freshman who may have been just diving into the world of entrepreneurship. No two businesses featured were alike.
Freshman Emma Wagner was one of the Mountain Day Market vendors. She sold crocheted goods that she made. Wagner has been crocheting for two and a half years. She took on the task of learning this skill to grow closer with her grandmother, who also crochets. Wagner heard about the market through the Center for Student Enterprises and Entrepreneurship Development (C-SEED). This department promotes entrepreneurship and small businesses. When asked how she was approved to have a stall at the market, she noted how simple it was.
“All I had to do was fill out a Google form and be like, ‘Hey, I’m selling this and here’s the name of my product,’” Wagner said.
The market provided Wagner with her first chance to sell her products to such a large group of people.
“I’ve sold a couple [of products] through various commissions and stuff in high school, but never on this scale of what the market was,” Wagner said.
The market provided Wagner with firsthand insight into what products sell and which do not and helped her become more confident in her abilities as an entrepreneur.
Caroline Caverly is another freshman who was featured at the market this year. She sold “blind dates with a book.” This product is growing in popularity among bookstores, and it entails wrapping a book and providing only a summary of its contents so readers do not know what book they are buying, only what it is about.
“The whole point is to give these books a new purpose and a new life,” Caverly said.
This innovative way of selling books forces people to look beyond a book’s cover. Caverly thrifted the books, received donations and even provided some from her personal collection.
“I feel like people just look over the books,” Caverly said. “They use them once and then they’re done with them. So, this is a way to make [reading] an experience.”
Caverly aimed to make a product that was unique and purposeful.
“I want to make sure that it’s personalized and each customer feels that it’s tailored to them,” Caverly said.
This is where small businesses stand apart from big ones. Corporate businesses typically struggle to make something personalized, opting instead to create something mainstream. Small businesses are able to produce something people can connect with, and for Caverly, that is where some of their beauty lies.
This is not the first Mountain Day Market that Berry has hosted, and this year’s market saw some returning vendors. Mea Acton is an MBA student who sold at the market. While she has been a vendor at the market previously, this is the first year she is selling candles. Acton started this business, 1940 Candle Company, in the Spring of 2023. She sources her candle jars from Amazon and her wax from American Organic. The wax Acton uses is 100% organic soy wax, and she uses wooden wicks to promote a cleaner burn. Then, she buys her scents from Candle Science. Putting all of these components together to make the candles requires relatively little hands-on time.
“I could make 100 candles in four hours,” Acton said.
However, while the pouring process is quick, the candles will not be ready for buyers until roughly two weeks later.
“They take 24 hours to cure so I can trim the wicks,” Acton said. “Then they take two weeks until I can sell them. Making them only takes a couple hours, but the process to actually get them ready to sell is about two weeks.”
While Acton mainly covers any costs through the profit she makes off sales, she first received financing from the Angel Fund in the Spring of 2023. The Angel Fund is a competition for entrepreneurship students. Paula Englis, a professor of management and entrepreneurship at Berry, invites students to pitch their ideas for the chance to win up to $1,000 to put toward their business ventures.
“The Entrepreneurship 440 class will vote on how much each student gets awarded,” Acton said. “When I did it, I pitched for the full $1,000 and then all of the students and Paula voted on how much they thought that I should be awarded.”
The money is generated from donors and the pitch is hosted every year. Acton was awarded $950, which was invested in items such as a wax warmer and her first round of wax, jars and scents.
Acton’s business is unique from other candle businesses, however. She makes scents proven to help with memory and mood.
“My grandfather passed last February with Alzheimer’s, so I decided to name my candle company 1940 Candle Company after him,” Acton said. “All of my candles are using scents that are supposed to help with memory and mood, which are the two main side effects of Alzheimer’s and dementia.”
Her mission is to give caregivers and families another opportunity to help those who may be suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia.
Another veteran of the Mountain Day Market is Cecilia Kolbash. Kolbash is a senior, and this is her third year at the market. She sold patchwork sweatshirts and shirts.
“I feel like anytime I go look at the Shipyard, the clothing isn’t unique enough for me. I love fashion and I love being unique and just expressing myself with clothes,” Kolbash said. “So I decided I would use applique work to make Berry branded shirts and sweatshirts.”
Kolbash purchases her sweatshirts and shirts from Jiffy and her fabric is from Joann, Hobby Lobby or a thrift store. One key thing Kolbash does to differentiate her business from others is take feedback from customers seriously. She also tries to be authentic, making the designs and applying them to the clothing herself.
For students who may be interested in participating in the next Mountain Day Market or starting their own business, there are many ways they can pursue these dreams.
“There’s always room to ask for finances through the C-Seed,” Kolbash said.
The C-Seed offers workshops that students can attend, and it also hosts other markets outside of Mountain Day, such as the Spring Market that occurs in March. The Mountain Day Market, however, is an excellent opportunity for students to get involved in the world of entrepreneurship. The campus is full of people, including alumni, who are looking to support students.
“I’ve noticed for the past couple of years that alumni love supporting students,” Acton said. “The fact that they’re back for a weekend and can see what students are doing, and purchase from students and just talk to students and get to know them, it’s like the best opportunity for entrepreneurs on campus.” Building a small business and being an entrepreneur can teach perseverance, time management skills and marketing skills. A small business provides an opportunity to create something unique to you, something that consumers will not find in a world of big business. Of course, it is not easy. While beginning a small business or taking the first step into the world of entrepreneurship may not be the easiest thing, many small business owners will say that it is well worth the effort.