Students do some pretty great things. At HCuOttawa, we’ve had the pleasure of featuring student political leaders, incredible student artists, student designers, and student entrepreneurs, such as today’s profile on the creators of the hippest new product, the Earth Board. If you’re in the market for a new organizational item that will add charm and character to your home, read on about this locally handmade organizational board created with reclaimed wood which features hooks, containers and a magnetic strip!
Her Campus uOttawa: Thanks for sitting down with us, Becky! Tell us a little bit about yourself and your colleagues.
Becky Muise: My name is Becky, I am a fourth year Art History student with a major in Arts Management (Business) and I’m graduating this year in June. My teammates on this project are Tyler and Taylor. Tyler is a fourth year Mechanical Engineering student who has a minor in Business and is a part of the Ravens Racing club on campus. Taylor is in her second year and is studying Law. We were put together as a team due to our varied backgrounds and areas of study!
HCuO: Tell us about your product, Earth Board. What is it and why are you selling it? How did you come up with the idea to create this product?
BM: The Earth Board idea mainly came from Tyler, our Mechanical Engineer. As a part of our Entrepreneurship class (BUSI 2800) at Carleton University, we are taking part in an Online Venture Challenge. The challenge is a form of competition that classes take part in to work on and hone their entrepreneurial skills that they learn during the semester. It is partnered with Shopify and it’s a main component to our class and grade. When we created the Earth Board we wanted a unique and environmentally focused product. The Earth Board is made of reclaimed wood from the Ottawa region that has hooks, storage tins and a magnetic strip for organization. It is a product that could be used in a variety of ways but it is meant to be predominantly as an organization tool in the kitchen. It’s hand made here in Ottawa by us, the members of the Earth Board team, so it’s definitely special.
HCuO: Who should use this product?
BM: Anyone really! The product is really versatile; it could be used in the kitchen for storage or in your bedroom to sort and hang jewelry.
HCuO: You’re donating all the funds from this product to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – can you tell us a little bit about this organization and why you chose to donate your profits to this company?
BM: As a part of our Venture Challenge we had to choose a charity to whom we would donate our profits. Because our product is made of reclaimed wood, we wanted to donate our profits to a cause that would help protect the environment and contribute to the preservation of Canada’s forests. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is a well known and established charity that works to protect Canada’s wilderness, promote awareness and encourage individual action to preserve the wilderness of the country. We are proud to be working in partnership with CPAWS and hope to make a good contribution at the end of our project to their organization.
HCuO: Where can we buy our own Earth Board?
BM: The Earth Board can be purchased on our Shopify page. We also have accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. We receive points for our Online Venture Challenge when customers and referred from different links and social media accounts. So if you’d like to help us out, feel free to follow the different links on our above mentioned social media accounts!
Photo credits to Becky Muise.