Entrepreneurial student wins Business of the Month scheme
Entrepreneurial student Elisa Etemad in her award winning shop Crafty Praxis
Mon, 28 Apr 2014 14:56:00 BST
Graduate Elisa Etemad’s business, Crafty Praxis, wins the Eaton Smith Business of the Month award
AFTER little over a year in business, University of Huddersfield graduate Elisa Etemad decided she had to take the plunge and move into bigger premises. Fortunately, the new outlet was only yards away from her existing shop. But relocation was still a lot of hard work, especially as she wanted to reopen without missing a day’s trading.
With a lot of assistance, Elisa shifted her arts and crafts business, named Crafty Praxis, to new premises in Huddersfield’s Byram Arcade. Now she has almost four times as much space in which to display individually crafted artefacts from designers around the UK, and in which to design, make and sell her own distinctive range of jewellery. She has also enjoyed success in a business awards scheme.
“I promised the family and friends who helped me move that I am not going to do it again for another few years! It was a huge job, with all the decorating to do, but we did it over the weekend and managed not to lose a single day of trading,” said Elisa, who graduated in Textile Crafts from the University in 2012.
Almost immediately, she decided to launch her own business, so that she had the freedom to design and sell her own work and showcase products from other creative people. She received help and advice from the University’s Enterprise Team, including a £2,400 activation grant. Crafty Praxis was up and running and its formula soon proved a success.
Growing reputation
Expansion into the new, larger Byram Arcade shop means that Elisa can now display and market the work of more than 100 designers. And her growing reputation means that she is increasingly approached by artists and designers who are eager to sell their work via Crafty Praxis.
She has also organised craft fairs within the attractive Victorian environment of the Byram Arcade, which have the added benefit of creating extra footfall for her shop.
Judges in the Business of the Month Scheme that is run by Huddersfield law firm Eaton Smith in tandem with the Mid-Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and UK Trade and Investment were impressed by Elisa’s ambition and progress. She was made one of the monthly winners and it means she will be one of 12 candidates for the Business of the Year contest, which takes place in July.
Elisa is grateful for the help and advice she received from University of Huddersfield business mentors, under the Activ8 scheme that aids student start-ups. Now she herself revisits the University and gives talks to students who would like to follow in her footsteps.
To view more pieces of Elisa's work you can visit the Crafty Praxis photo gallery here.
