Want to learn more about our story and what drives our little shop? Check out this feature from the Hillsdale Collegian.
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For two proud Hillsdale alumnae, it’s the little things that best celebrate Hillsdale.
That’s why Ashlyn Neveau ’16 and Alex Whitford ’18 are launching Hillsdalian Goods, a startup that gives the Hillsdale name the treatment that big cities get. It provides a variety of quality merchandise that people can use to show off their love of their hometown.
“You see that [kind of pride] a lot in bigger cities, which is a little bit where we got our inspiration from,” Neveau said. “I’m from Kansas City, originally, and they have a bunch of different cool shops and stores where you can buy Kansas City things and show them off and wear them and give them as gifts. We wanted to be able to cultivate that for the people at Hillsdale because there’s so much beauty here”.
The two entrepreneurs design products with Hillsdale themes. Though their inventory is currently limited to a few select items, they plan to launch a new piece of merchandise every Friday. Right now they’re selling mugs, laptop stickers, and photography prints of the town’s architecture.
“We just caught on to the fact that people really loved anything that was Hillsdale ‘branded,’” Neveau continued, referencing her and Whitford’s time spent selling calligraphy and macrame plant holders at the Hillsdale farmer’s market. “We wanted to figure out a way to provide more of those things for the people of Hillsdale, but making everything by hand can get time- consuming.”
Their journey toward this business began two summers ago, when Neveau dedicated a lot of time crafting for her upcoming wedding. After the wedding, she still had so much “crafting energy” that she and Whitford decided to channel it toward making goods to sell at the farmers market. Coining their new project as the “Hillsdale Art Mart,” Neveau did calligraphy while Whitford made macrame holders for plants. They did this for two years, in addition to their day jobs running the Student Activities Office.
“Ashlyn and I gained a lot of entrepreneurial experience through working in Student Activities,” Whitford said. “Blending that with our experience running a booth at Hillsdale farmers market for the last two years, we’ve just kind of found a way to meld the two passions we have of creating things for the Hillsdale community that they love, and also getting to exercise our creative muscles.”
The combination of SAB and the farmers market made them feel at home in both the town and gown sides of Hillsdale, said Neveau.