Amanda and Mary were two students that participated in the Valentine’s Event Journalism hosted. They gave students handmade products from their small businesses.
Amanda Pohopien started her business, Accents by Intuition, in March of 2022 to showcase her love for making jewelry and to make some extra money by selling rings. Since then, she has expanded her business to sell products with more detail-oriented wire and has begun to sell thrift jean-totes. She is currently working on a new line of corsets and home decor.
During the Journalism Valentine’s Business Event, Pohopien displayed her braided pear rings, which were a part of her November collection. To prepare, Pohopien made twenty rings that varied in size. She really enjoyed making the rings because she could show off her rings to Glendora High School students without the added worry of making money. In this way, she “could just focus on providing people with a great piece of jewelry.”
Pohopien was glad she could participate in the event as it gave her publicity and increased her Instagram following and more people favorited her Etsy shop.
From accessories to apparel, Mary Shearer was another Glendora High School student who showcased her business at the event. Shearer started her business, Crafty Bear, named Elysian at the time of the event, because of her love of crocheting. She has been crocheting since elementary school but got serious about it during her junior year of high school.
To prepare for the Valentine's Event, Shearer worked for a week straight, trying to mainly focus on products that didn’t need a pattern such as the strawberries, frogs, bees, and heart keychains she displayed.
She believes the event helped get her business’ name out to the students of Glendora High
School and, “a lot of people were able to preorder from [her] valentines launch which was really exciting.”
Overall, the Valentine's Event at Glendora High School provided a great platform for Pohopien and Shearer to showcase their small businesses and gain exposure among their peers, while also spreading the love and joy of handmade products.
