There are several places to find gifts for your friends and family on campus – and I’m not talking about the book store.
Ranging from handmade earrings to t-shirts, students are running their own businesses on campus right out of their residence hall rooms. Support students’ side hustles by purchasing one-of-a-kind presents from these student-owned businesses.
Eos Earrings
Junior Zoe Foote’s earrings make for a homemade holiday gift for your fashionista friend. The business Eos Earrings, Foote’s hobby-turned side gig, features earrings made from materials like fuzzy hearts, rooster beads and acrylic stars with gold flakes.
Foote said she uses the materials to create unconventional earring designs like mini-plastic wine bottles and orange slices.
“Anything can be an earring if you try hard enough,” Foote said.
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For holiday orders, Foote said she will post her new collection of earrings to her @eosearrings Instagram account at noon on Small Business Saturday – Nov. 30. Customers can direct message her to claim a pair, which cost anywhere from $5 to $15. Foote offers free pickup anywhere on campus or ships domestically for a $5 flat rate, she said.
“Tune in quick because they do go fast,” Foote said, adding that her earrings have sold out in 30 minutes in the past.
@eosearrings, $5 to $15. Payment: Venmo, PayPal, cash.
Never Mind Tees
For the stylish student on a budget, Never Mind Tees’ artistic t-shirts, totes and bandanas are ideal gifts for roommates, friends and family.
Juniors Simon Handelman, Sienna Greenwell, Tara Peckham and Ari Golub design and handprint each item themselves. They design shirts with faces of themselves, pears and airplanes printed across the shirts. One of the t-shirts features nine small cartoon faces lined up in a square shape.
“Our designs are just whatever we’re into,” Handelman said.
Customers can browse the designs on the @nvm_tees Instagram account and order through their website, nvm.ink. With tees and bandanas for $10, totes for $20 and free pickup, the group said they prioritize keeping their merchandise affordable.
“I think that’s also part of the appeal,” Peckham said. “For college students, a $10 t-shirt is great.”
Nvm.ink, $10 to $20. Payment: Venmo, PayPal.
Issa Fit
If you are looking to splurge a little on a special someone, sophomore Olivia Issa’s custom clothes business is the place to look.
Issa’s fashion business, Issa Fit, features simple but elegant tops, pants, dresses and jumpsuits all designed and sewn by Issa herself. Some pieces include a pink, two-textured eyelet sundress and a chic, black-linen jumpsuit.
Issa said she has been sewing since she was in second grade, teaching herself along the way.
“I learned by taking apart clothes and putting them back together in new ways,” Issa said.
Issa posts her designs on her business Instagram, @o_issa_fit, and interested customers can direct message her account to place an order. Tops start at $30, and more complicated pieces like dresses and jumpsuits are priced higher at about $80. Issa said all orders placed before the holidays will be sewn over winter break and will be available for pickup or shipping in January.
@o_issa_fit, $30+. Payment: Venmo.
