Clark Tank Competition Results and Reflection

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!

https://www.clarku.edu/departments/entrepreneurship-and-innovation/2022/02/21/clark-tank-venture-development-2022-winners-announced/

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.