By Michael Howell
Students at MAPS Media Institute have launched their own on-line jewelry store.
The institute has offered free after-school classes in design, filmmaking, music and technology since it was founded by Peter Rosten in 2004. From the beginning MAPS has offered classes that combined education with the real world of business and students have produced commercials, public service announcements and documentaries for paying clients, the money going back into the institute to help keep the classes free for participating students. Then last year about this time, at the urging of students, an Entrepreneurial Class was added to the mix.
The aim of the Entrepreneurial Class, according to MAPS Program Director Clare Ann Harff, was to specifically focus on the development of business skills related to the various arts being taught in the other classes. It is geared toward helping the students identify their interests, recognize their individual skills and learn how to turn these into 21st century career paths
“The students made it clear that they did not want academic and abstract training in constructing business plans and such things,” said Harff. “They wanted hands-on training. They wanted to actually work on starting a business.”
A great opportunity arose when one of the MAPS Moms, Toba Winston, whose daughter graduated from the institute, gave them an unusual gift: a collection of rare, vintage costume jewelry.
“We usually get donations of computer equipment or money,” said Harff. “This was something really different.”
Students in the Entrepreneurial Class took the ball and ran with it. They researched e-commerce on the internet and discovered Etsy, an on-line marketplace for hand-made and vintage items where you can set up shop and sell your wares. They also had to research the history and value of the jewelry that had been donated. They had to learn to photograph the jewelry and edit it for posting on the web. They had to learn the ins and outs of internet security and on-line sales, shipping, marketing and identifying their prospective customer base.
The results, according to instructor Tim Kolberg, have been “very encouraging.” Without advertising yet, they have already made a few hundred dollars in sales.
One hundred percent of the income goes to fund the institute so that classes can remain free for all students.
One class participant, Sebastian Johnson, a 9th grade student at Hamilton High School, said, “This class is cool because it’s teaching me how to run my own business someday. My favorite part is making the sales!”
To get to the on-line store go to www.mapsmediainstitute.com and click on the “STORE” button at the top of the page. MAPS also runs an on-line merchandise store that sells MAPS T-Shirts. The MAPS school is located at 515 Madison Street in Hamilton. Program Director Clare Ann Harff can be reached at 381-7230.