A new online shop for student makers is launching at the UA this fall

University of Arizona student creatives will soon be able to sell their goods on a new online marketplace.

Student-Made is an e-commerce platform that has partnered with dozens of universities across the U.S. in hopes of helping students of all majors launch their businesses and become successful entrepreneurs during their college years.

Student-Made Arizona launches on the first day of fall classes, Aug. 26.

The platform is partnering with UA FORGE, a program that “embraces the entrepreneurial spirit and puts ideas into action to create positive economic, social and cultural impact,” according to Julie Barbier Bularzik, the program’s venture development education coordinator. 

“There's a few different aspects to it,” she said. “But basically, it provides students with a place to promote and sell their products and services to the community. There will also be components of pop-up shops, which we are really excited about and the way it functions is it is all student-run.”

Once the online marketplace launches, customers will be able to find items like art prints, crocheted goodies, keychains, phone cases, customized shoes, hats, wood carvings and more, according to Barbier Bularzik. Additionally, buyers will have the chance to purchase services like photography, videography, tutoring and even tech support.

Because the marketplace is online, anyone can make a purchase, not just students.

“When you're talking about entrepreneurship, it can be so isolating, so lonely. And so that's always been something that I bring forward with the different programs that I create at FORGE for students,” Barbier Bularzik said. “So I think community is huge, I think it's a huge opportunity to connect with people outside of the university here in Tucson. We have such an artistic, creative community. We have some of the biggest pop-up markets and stuff in the state. And so it's just thinking about ways that we can go outside of the university and have people in Tucson be involved.”

Barbier Bularzik says the application turnout has been great so far, pulling around 25-30 applicants. Typically, most launches start with 8-10.

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Since the platform is student-run, there are around seven students in charge of  the management team, performing tasks like operating the website, updating social media and providing local outreach — all of which are necessities in running a successful business nowadays.

“So something I'm really excited about is that not only are these students getting this experience to be able to sell their different things on the platform, but these student managers will also have some really great (business) experience,” Barbier Bularzik said.

Student-Made was founded in 2017 at Elon University in North Carolina by co-founder Lindsay Reeth, who was a student at the time and often saw her classmates struggling to launch their businesses from campus, according to a UA press release.

After its launch in 2017, the “for students, by students” platform has expanded to several universities and helped students find their confidence and gain skills that can “serve them in any career path they choose beyond graduation,” Reeth said in an email.

“We are constantly inspired by the creativity of our students and the talents they have. This platform was created to help showcase that to campus communities across the country,” Reeth said. “Students should know that this platform was inspired by and created for them.”

Once the Student-Made Arizona marketplace is up and running this fall, Barbier Bularzik says she’s excited to reach new student entrepreneurs and build sustainable partnerships within the UA community.

“I think it's uniting students, faculty, alumni and the local community in support of student entrepreneurship,” she said. “I think you have to be really brave to be an entrepreneur. It's not easy.

“I love this platform because there are all the different support structures, but there's going to be real hardships that they all go through. So, I think just rallying as a community for people being brave and people expressing themselves and putting their ideas into the world — I think that it's a really beautiful thing to be able to support that.”

For more information about Student-Made Arizona, check out their website and Instagram or send an email to studentmadearizona@gmail.com.