Passion Project — Hatching More Great Ideas

Emily ’22 and Emily ’22 weren’t ready to let Hatchery go.

As juniors, they participated in 2020-21 with the on-campus Horizons site, which offered them the opportunity to hone their entrepreneurial and business savvy by selling handmade crafts created by Miss Hall’s students. When they learned that the site was not expected to return for 2021-22, they took matters into their own hands.

They turned it into a club, leading a team that mentored student makers and helped them bring their products to market. Club members helped with everything from brainstorming product ideas to overseeing sales, hosting one each semester.

“I really liked Arty Party freshman year,” says Emily L., referring to the 9th-grade Horizons project in which students made and sold crafts to support philanthropic causes. “Hatchery was the 11th-grade version of Arty Party, but it wasn’t going to be a Horizons site again. We still wanted to make things, and I enjoyed learning about the business side of the work, too, so we decided to make it a club.”

Hatch Club members mentored twenty student makers who created cards, jewelry, clothing, and more, selling them at Fall and Spring Marketplace events. The group also worked closely with Ellie Kreischer, the Elizabeth Gatchell Klein Expressive Arts Chair, who helped launch the Hatchery and Arty Party initiatives.

“I was excited to do it, because I like brainstorming and making things,” says Emily G., who, like Emily L., enjoyed learning the ins and outs of taking a product from concept to marketplace. “I started last year knowing absolutely nothing about the entrepreneurial process, and now I feel like I can do it, and the level of growth in that respect has been amazing.”