My name is Mackenze and I am a 6th grader at Schuyler Colfax Middle School. I have always wanted to be part of the TREP$ Marketplace because I love going to craft fairs and seeing what people have created. The name of my business is Coast to Coast Company. When my dad drank coffee he always left a stain on the counter. I thought about an idea that would help my mom out. So I did a little research and found a coaster that was both pretty and functional.
I experimented with different techniques to create unique patterns, colors and designs. They came out great. However, in order for the coaster not to scratch a surface we had to put stoppers on each. This turned out to be one of the more difficult tasks. First we tried sticking on the stoppers (they had sticky bottoms) but when we tried stacking them, the stoppers fell off. So we tried hot glue. But when we tried to stack them for the display and realized all the bottoms weren’t sticking right. When I came home from school before the Marketplace I decided to gorilla glue them all on the bottoms of the coasters and stack them last minute. My parents had gorilla glue sticky hands for many days because they don’t want me touching the glue and having the same thing happen to me right before I would be selling my coasters!
I was so excited at the Marketplace when everyone came to me and asked, “How did you make them?” and “They are very pretty and would look good in my house.” To make the coasters I applied a layer of rubbing alcohol and then put on the special alcohol inks and watch the patterns grow. Each coaster has 3 layers of acrylic sealer on top. I sold my coasters in packs of 2 for $4 and 4 for $8. In total, I thought that 23 sets would be enough and I would have extra, but I sold all them before the night was over I made a profit of $130 dollars!
I am looking forward to participating in the TREP$ Marketplace next year. I will be coming up with new patterns and color combos.
