I thought it would be interesting to be involved with TREP$ and sell a creative product at the marketplace. After signing up and attending the first few meetings, I began thinking about what to sell. So my mom and I talked about what would be different and reflect my personality and interests. I searched online and found a few ideas I really liked. Well, everyone knows I love nature and I want to be a geologist one day. So what would be better than using natural things such as rocks, sticks, acorns, mini pine cones and bark set up a certain way to make a beautiful picture? I picked this idea because nature is already art, but most people can’t see it. So by doing this, it shows people how pretty and fascinating nature can be.
My mom helped to purchase a few needed supplies to put together this natural art. Although, most of the supplies came from walking with my dog at the park. We planned a couple weekends to visit my grandma and spent some time together making the art. My grandma painted and stained the frames, while I put the rocks, sticks, etc. on the frames. We shared our creativity and made 25 beautiful products such as frames/pictures, pencil boxes, and wooden ornaments.
Of course there are many goods but there can be bads too. I mostly worried if we made enough artwork. Another one of our problems were when my sister painted a box but it didn’t necessarily represent nature. So I quickly had to find another idea, paint over it, add rocks and manage to do it on time. Then the biggest problem was ten minutes before we got to the TREP$ Marketplace, I realized we didn’t have a tablecloth. So, I called my mom and asked her to pick up a tablecloth on her way home before we headed over to TREP$. The big day was here and I was making a last minute mental checklist.
When the TREP$ Marketplace ribbon was cut and they let through the stampede of shoppers, I was very nervous and wanted to grab my stuff and leave. But I stayed strong and waited for the herd of people to get to my stand. A lot of people gave me compliments. I was very thankful but of course still felt nervous. In the beginning, most people loved my art and many of them bought my Eco-Art. I felt really happy and excited that I was selling my products..
By the end of the Marketplace the kids were given a break and allowed for family members to take over. My grandma took over and tried to sell the last 6 out of the 25 products we had made. By the time I came back, my grandma sold every last one! I was so happy that people loved my Eco-Art lot and I was very curious about how she sold out so fast. In the end it was a great experience and I look forward to doing TREP$ again next year. Oh and I made a $118 profit! Woohoo!
Note: Sabrina participated in the TREP$ entrepreneurship education program as after-school enrichment, right at school. This extracurricular activity is a PBL (project based learning) experience that helps kids gain an entrepreneurial mindset, financial literacy and life skills to prepare them for and improve their futures.
