How 4 Businesses Grew With Our Small Business Grant

About Small Joy:
Through Small Joy I create eco-friendly outdoor picnic/camping blankets and play mats featuring bold colors and designs. Every product is created with care and intentionality to bring others joy for years to come.

What did winning the grant mean for you and your business?
Winning the Small Business Grant was a big boost of confidence in what I’m doing and my vision for Small Joy. It adds to my stability as a new business and what I can offer my customers.

Did winning the grant change anything?
Winning the grant was HUGE for me as a new start-up business. I’ve been able to prototype and introduce a new product much sooner than if I had to build the capital on my own. Also as a new business, the grant allowed me to purchase material sooner so that I can spread my workflow out more evenly and take advantage of slow sale months to build inventory.

How have you used your grant money?
The very first thing was to upgrade to SpoonflowerPRO, which has been priceless for free shipping, discounts and quick turnaround on orders. I ordered sample designs and test fabrics for Color-Me Mats, a new product I’m launching soon. I was then able to order large quantities of fabric to build up an inventory for both Color-Me Mats and my Outdoor Picnic Blankets ready for Spring/Summer markets.

What projects are you currently working on?
I’m continuing to fine tune my process and, as a new business, working on refining my brand’s “look.” (Sheena Bean’s blog post 3 Tips for Shopping the Spoonflower Marketplace was really helpful, along with Jennifer Diederich’s branding tips post, 7 Branding Tips for Creative Entrepreneurs!) There are so many colors, patterns and styles available at Spoonflower, but now I’m starting to really define what Small Joy means to me… and sewing like mad getting ready for spring markets.

What’s next?
This spring I’m launching Color-Me Mats and I’m excited thinking about themes and developing additional pattern designs for those. I’d also like to work on developing a few of my own patterns for my Outdoor Picnic Blanket.

About Armand D Castilleja:
I’m the maker and creator of The Honest Crook, which focuses on fun colorful quality bags for everyone!

What did winning the grant mean for you and your business?
More opportunities to try new things and take bigger risks!

Did winning the grant change anything?
Yes! The pandemic has been rough and since going full time with my business I’ve had my highs and lows. That being said, this grant really changed a lot for me and my business! I am beyond grateful!

How have you used your grant money?
I’ve been working on new collections of fabric for my fanny packs and tote bags. I love playing around with the Spoonflower Color Map and trying new color palettes out!

What projects are you currently working on?
Bags as always, but with this grant money I am planning on sewing more apparel and home decor.

What’s next? 
New collabs coming soon! I am working on expanding and growing The Honest Crook into a full-on lifestyle brand that feels good to me.

About Photo-Synthesis Designs:
Photo-Synthesis Designs is a Trinbagonian born photography-based fashion and soft furnishings lifestyle brand that merges my love for travel and photography with my background in fashion and interior design. The brand is dedicated to spreading the ‘love for country’—whichever country you may be from, and aims to end xenophobia and racism one product at a time with its concept of synthesis (i.e., the combination of components to form a connected whole).

What did winning the grant mean for you and your business?
Winning the Small Businesses Grant allowed my small businesses to continue to make new pieces during a very challenging economic period. It allowed us to experiment and create new, more expensive products like coats and pushed our brand creatively into the realm of costume design and even a short film. The grant also facilitated our expansion into two new markets: Barbados and the Bahamas, plus the launch of our accessory line.

Did winning the grant change anything?
Apart from the freedom the grant gave me to create and the brand awareness gained, winning the grant was quite validating and gave me additional confidence and pride in my brand. Seeing other success stories within the Spoonflower community was also very motivating. Winning the grant played a large role in speeding up our expansion into new markets and our ability to afford to diversify into creating accessories.

How have you used your grant money?
With the Spoondollars from the Small Businesses Grant I was able to create a number of pieces for my pageant and pre-pageant wardrobe for a competition that I represented my country in, in the Bahamas last year. This included my national costume, a tribute to the Scarlet Ibis (one of the national birds of T&T) and the Caroni Swamp in Trinidad and Tobago; a number of resortwear pieces: a jumpsuit, dresses, caftans, wraps, swimwear and two gowns. In essence, I was able to build a mini collection from which customers could place orders and experiment with a few new items.

What projects are you currently working on?
One of my main objectives for 2022 is to enter new markets in the Caribbean region. I am just getting my accessory collection for the Barbados market into a boutique there called My Collection Barbados and I am completing a number of Barbados-inspired resortwear pieces.

After receiving such a positive response to our first handbag design, I am working on creating a number of variations for different destinations. I am also excited to be collaborating with another Trinidadian designer based in the UK (Thalia-Mae Nero of TMBoutique) to create a mini-jewelry collection featuring images of various Caribbean landscapes.

What’s next?
I plan to add two gowns to the Barbados collection later this year and fully launch the Barbados collection with a number of photoshoots on the island. I would also like to complete two climate change themed video shoots in Barbados for this launch to bring attention to that meaningful cause that is impacting the island.

I am hopeful that my business will secure wholesale orders from key buyers in Barbados, St. Lucia, Curaçao and the Bahamas this year. And we hope to expand our reach to key Caribbean diaspora markets in the US and UK through additional marketing.

About A.E. Kieren:
A.E. Kieren is an illustrator based in Brooklyn, New York, who is interested in creating big, ambitious textile designs that explore new subject matter.

What did winning the grant mean for you and your business?
It’s been an amazing opportunity to experiment with new and untested products that I was excited to try but might not have dared on my own since I couldn’t be sure in advance how commercial the new products would be.

Did winning the grant change anything?
I am really appreciative of the validation and recognition, which has helped me acquire more and better projects with new clients.

How have you used your grant money?
I developed and produced three versions of my illustrated posters on a fabric concept.

What projects are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on some new textile designs exploring some new unexpected subject matter.

What’s next?
I’m continuing to generate new illustrated textile designs as I market myself to brands and interior design agencies as a designer of ambitious custom textile designs.