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CELEBRATING THE BUSINESS OF CREATIVITY

The work of artists and designers continues to expand — from careers in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary contexts to innovative entrepreneurs in business and society — and artists and designers are becoming the driving force behind a new idea-driven, creative economy. (see Creativity Connects: Trends and Conditions Affecting U.S. Artists.) MICA equips students with the multi-disciplinary creative problem-solving skills needed to thrive in this new reality. One core component of this approach is a focus on creative entrepreneurship. This issue celebrates the entrepreneurial achievements of MICA's alumni — from incubation to thriving business — and the MICA programs that helped them get there.

IDEA
ENGINE

UP/START

POWERING MICA'S ENTREPRENEURIAL INCUBATOR

One of the first of its kind at a college of art and design, MICA’s annual venture competition has awarded $735k in seed money since its inception seven years ago. UP/Start is spearheaded by the College’s Ratcliffe Center for Creative Entrepreneurship, which supports students and recent alumni as they develop and grow innovative businesses that are driving the new creative economy. This year's competition saw over $100k awarded to startups with deep commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Below are stories about some of this years finalists, but we encourage you to read more about all 2022 UP/Start businesses here.

FASHION FORWARD

MICA ALUMNI STARTUPS SEEK TO CHANGE THE NET-ZERO FASHION GAME

Rachel Faller ’08 (Fiber BFA) went to Cambodia on a Fulbright grant shortly after her graduation from MICA to learn about fair trade — and left with a purpose. Today, the co-creator of the sustainability-focused garment company tonlé employs 30 people in Phnom Penh who make beautiful zero-waste clothing while earning fair wages and benefits.

The company is focused on what it calls "fashion justice" and maintains a production ecosystem designed to enrich the planet rather than harm it. All of tonlé’s products are made from remnant textile waste from larger factories, diverting thousands of pounds of textiles from landfills and incinerators.

On May 18, Faller was featured on The Social Impact podcast, which launched last month with a series of interviews with artisan-entrepreneurs.

Read more about:

Allina Liu ’13 (Fiber BFA) — founder of her eponymous fashion-line — was recently profiled in Marie Claire as a small, women-owned business. With influences from Chinese photographer Ren Hang to 17th century Dutch portraiture, Liu creates art-inspired pieces and is committed to small-batch, eco-friendly production and ethical labor practices.

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FUTURE PERFECT

MICA GRADUATE BRINGS PERSONAL EMPOWERMENT AND EXPRESSION TO THE PROSTHETIC INDUSTRY

Baltimore-based startup company Danae, Inc., founded by MICA Alum Winston Fraser ’16 (Painting BFA), allows users to digitally design their own shapes and patterns for artificial limbs, transforming a medical device into a custom canvas for personal expression and stigma-breaking empowerment. Danae is one of the innovation-based, future-oriented companies featured in Smithsonian’s Futures That Ignite exhibit. The exhibition, which celebrates the 175th anniversary of the Smithsonian, will show through July 2022.

A FLOWERING STARTUP

A BUSINESS WITH A BEAUTIFUL IDEA: REPRESENTING FAMILY THROUGH FLOWERS

Chelsea Conrad ’20 (Illustration MA) turned an idea for Christmas gifts for her family into a thriving business. Her venture, Garden Party Press, takes a beautifully unique approach to creating group portraits, using the flower of each person’s birthday month to produce a one-of-a-kind print. Chelsea and Garden Party Press were recently featured in PRINT.