Here at HCBU we absolutely adore female entrepreneurs, and now it feels like everywhere you look, there’s another BU lady starting up her own company. Now I don’t know about you but deciding to start a business at such a tender age is absolutely insane to me – but maybe that’s why I’m not in SMG.
Junior, Chelsea Hermond is the latest collegiette to join the ranks of female trailblazers with her newly formed business. A transfer student from Emory University, the 21-year-old Georgia native almost immediately fell in love with Boston’s urban vibe and was deeply inspired by stories of college students starting up their own businesses here in the city.
“I thought to myself this is the perfect time to learn about the process”. It was there that she developed the idea for her line of hats, Aristiann. What is particularly striking about Chelsea is that everything about her brand is extremely well thought out and everything, from the name to the thought process behind the brand, has a meaning behind it. The brand completely embodies the idea of fashion with a purpose and reflects two of Chelsea’s (and my!) favourite things: fashion and education. While the hats are totally cute and that alone should be enough for you to buy one, an added benefit is that you can consider it your good deed of the day, since 15% of the proceeds from each hat sold goes towards an educational non-profit organization called Citizen Schools. This, Chelsea revealed, is actually the primary aim of Aristiann; to raise awareness of the widening educational gap in the US- “I really wanted to create a unique product that was trendy and at the same time drive home the message of always thinking of something bigger than yourself”.
I couldn’t finish the interview without asking Chelsea the two questions that are probably on everyone’s mind (or maybe just mine): Why hats and what does Aristiann mean? I was actually pleasantly surprised with the answers. Remember how I told you everything about the brand was super well thought-out? Well, Aristiann is a combination of Aristotle and Horace Mann, who are considered the fathers of education; and she chose hats because of the phrase “put your thinking cap on” which all ties together really well with the overarching theme of the brand which is (drum roll please) education!
Everyone please check out Chelsea’s website at www.aristiann.com, where you can find out more information about Aristiann and of course, support the cause and buy a hat! Hopefully with your support, the business can really turn into something big and truly make a difference.