SHIFT Magazine Issue No. 2

SHIFT Magazine is created by students at

IN INFORM SP IR E EXPLORE

TABLE OF CONTENTS Intro to SHIFT

2-5

Meet the SHIFT Staff

6-9

Meet the 2023 Shelfies

10-21

The Future of Food

22-33

A Work in Process

34-43

Ad Break

44-49

Activities + Tips & Tricks

50-59

BTS SHIFT Magazine Course

60-67

About da Vinci Center

68-69

Ad Break

70-75

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Welcome to...

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SHIFT

Inspire Explore Inform

Second Edition

The da Vinci Center SHIFT Retail Lab 1235 W Broad St, Richmond VA 23220

*This image was generated with AI, and it’s not perfect, but that’s ‘cause we believe we still need humanity in the creation of groovy things.

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SHIFT Retail Lab is a place for design thinking, communication, and collaboration. Here, entrepreneurs on and off campus are submersed into a hands-on learning environment where they can try their ideas, practice pitching and receive feedback from both peers and potential customers.

Overview

Shift Retail 04

SHIFT Retail Lab has been selected as winner in the Learning category as a part of the 2023 Innovation by Design Awards for Fast Company. Shift was also named as an honorable mention in the Urban Design category as part of the 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards for Fast Company.

lab at VCU

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MEET THE STAFF MeeMee Little Graduate Assistant, Events Coordinator SHIFT Retail Lab How do you think SHIFT has impacted VCU, da Vinci, and the community?

I definitely think it has opened the doors a lot more to da Vinci, because it’s a space where we can automatically make that connection to a different type of education.

Cael Parker Graduate Assistant, Interactive Design Coordinator SHIFT Retail Lab What is your favorite thing about SHIFT? I love getting to interact with different people! Being in SHIFT, you get to talk to different people. I also love helping Shelfies develop and improve their business or product. Seeing them succeed makes me happy.

Malique Middleton Graduate Assistant, Shelfie Coordinator SHIFT Retail Lab What does your day to day look like at SHIFT? We live by the name SHIFT, you - every day is different. From hosting events, to running workshops, co-working, and supporting entrepreneurs on the shelves, we’re always adapting and shifting to meet the needs of our users.

Dom Khun Social Media Graduate Assistant VCU da Vinci Center & SHIFT Retail Lab If you could give any advice to a young entrepreneur, what would it be?

Start small, everything doesn’t have to be perfect.

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Tyrone Frye Experience and Engagement Coordinator VCU da Vinci Center & SHIFT Retail Lab How would you describe SHIFT in 3 words?

Shop, Test, Invest

Regan O’Donnell Office Manager VCU da Vinci Center & SHIFT Retail Lab What is your favorite thing about SHIFT? I am lucky to have an incredible team of people that help make the job easy and fun! From faculty, staff, student staff, and regulars, the people make it the incredible space it is.

Lloyd Young Director of Innovation and Design VCU da Vinci Center & SHIFT Retail Lab What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs?

Ideas are actually not the hard part...communication, testing, and getting feedback are what move great ideas forward. Keep experimenting and putting your ideas in action to see what you can learn.

Garret Westlake Associate Vice Provost in Innovation Executive Director of VCU da Vinci Center & SHIFT Retail Lab How do you think SHIFT has impacted VCU, da Vinci, and the community?

As an urban research university committed to innovation, VCU aims to expand access to innovation and entrepreneurial resources in the region. Ecosystems thrive when corporate, community, and university leaders work together to create positive change and opportunity for everyone.

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Meet Malique Meet Malique Middleton and Cael Parker, SHIFT’s Shelfie Coordinators. Malique and Cael are responsible for planning fun events, mentoring Shelfies, designing interactive displays, and overall bringing the program to life.

They are both graduate assistants enrolled in the Masters of Product Innovation program at the da Vinci Center.

Together, they make up the dynamic duo at the SHIFT Retail Lab, where they work to uplift the Shelfie program with their immense talents and unique perspectives as fellow entrepreneurs.

Malique is the “founder, Chief Scientist, and everything in between’’ of Gewd Botanicals, an all natural skincare brand dedicated to doing “gewd” all around. His product line includes an Oily Wash, Scrubba Scrub, and All-Over-Ya-Body Butter and the Flower Pack of all three staples. With earth-conscious packaging and ingredients, Gewd Botanicals provides quality products while being “global, impactful and scientific,” in his words.

Malique built his brand out of his James Madison University dorm room after realizing a personal need for healthy skincare. What started as a hobby in high school suggested to him by his mother turned into a regular self-care practice to improve his skin. When his friend inquired about what he was cooking one night, she found him cooking up some incredible skin care. After trying his products, the very next day she told Malique that he needed to make it a business.

So he did.

Fast forward to now, Malique’s journey has brought him to SHIFT, where he gets to bring his experiences into a collaborative space. After his tenure as a Shelfie last year with Gewd Botanicals, Malique now helps facilitate an impactful Shelfie experience for others. “Previously I was a Shelfie, but now I’m having the opportunity and the platform to instill all of the information and values and improve upon the program,” Malique explains.

“I like figuring out people’s individual problems. Every Shelfie has an opportunity, and I like trying to match them with that right person that can help solve that opportunity.”

Malique explains that collaboration is the most important resource at SHIFT, and he enjoys using his leadership to amplify the power of community.

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Story by Kayani Jaramillo & Cheyenne Boyd

“I want to help grow other people’s ideas and businesses and get them to where they want to be,” says Cael.

Cael is the creator of ModiMask, a brand in which she ideates ways to bring a new life to medical masks. Cael’s innovative solution was to repurpose these used medical masks into stylish and functional bags. The idea was born from a desire to increase the usability of these materials and make a positive impact on sustainability. In a world increasingly focused on eco-friendly practices and reusable products, turning medical masks into bags aligned with the growing demand for sustainability.

However, Cael realized that her process was not going to be sustainable in the long run. The process of collecting, sanitizing, deconstructing, and sewing the masks- it was a lot for one “4’9” powerhouse” to accomplish. This is when Cael had to pivot. “It’s still in its trial phases, like it’s not a fully formed business, just because I did hit that scaling problem.” Since then Cael has been thinking of alternative ways to reuse medical masks, such as pads and mats for the homeless. This pivot is an example of “willingness”a quality that Cael says is a must-have for entrepreneurs.

“You have to be willing to face the ugly side of things, too. Because it’s not all gonna be smooth. You’re gonna hit roadblocks.”

Cael’s journey at the SHIFT program has had a profound impact on her business and personal growth. She notes that the SHIFT program introduced her to a community of like-minded individuals and helped her explore her potential. It also encouraged her to consider expanding her knowledge by diving deeper into product development.

This impact and knowledge is what she hopes to have with new Shelfies at SHIFT.

“I would say [we] are two sides of the coin,” Cael says.

With her expertise in product development, and Malique’s confidence in business ventures, the SHIFT coordinators are the perfect mentorship pair for the Shelfies.

“I want to help grow other people’s ideas and businesses and get them to where they want to be,” says Cael. Being the Shelfie Coordinator has helped her find her passion of helping others dig into their own passions. As a maximizer, Malique wants to increase community engagement in SHIFT and the Shelfie program, as well as provide direction to the immense resources available to the Shelfies and beyond the program. Per Malique, the best resource SHIFT has to offer is collaboration. Both Cael and Malique aim to provide the best sense of collaboration and community at SHIFT. The coordinators hope to empower and assist fellow entrepreneurs on their journey by leveraging the resources and expertise available through the SHIFT Program.

and cael

INTRODUCING

SHELFIES 2023

Our Shelfies have about a month to showcase and test their big ideas. They could be working on a product or service that is already developed or starting at the beginning, with just an idea.

During their month at SHIFT they receive a stipend and programming, including a bootcamp, Feedback Fridays, and a group pop-up market.

Each semester there are multiple opportunities for current VCU students, alumni, and community founders to test their products, services, and ideas on the shelf at SHIFT. Meet some of the 2023 Shelfies!

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Celeste Chance

Catherine Emblidge

Hunter Chambers

Andrew Harper

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Story by Jordan Faveri & Ian Devenish

Introduction EBTB (Everything But the Booze) is a brand of non-alcoholic “shock”tails that invites everyone to the party and allows people to have fun and be proud of their decision to not drink alcohol. Invented by a team of Brandcenter students - Catherine Emblidge, Celeste Chance, Andrew Harper, an Hunter Chambers - the brand aims to hit store shelves in the next year. The flavors are fun and catchy: Phat Ass Mule; It’s Sangria, Biotch; and Margarita, That’s Hot.

The Vision While drinking alcohol is still a prevalent activity, more and more people are choosing sobriety. Unfortunately, many of the options available for teetotalers can seem patronizing. EBTB’s team was inspired by their friend who felt left out at parties because she didn’t drink. In their research, they found that this isn’t an uncommon story. Their solution? Shocktails! Andrew Harper states that the idea of “mock”tails was something they saw as insulting those who didn’t drink. But with “shock”tails, they aim to turn sobriety into something loud and proud. “What if you were to go out and then you just say, ‘Hey, I want a Phat Ass Mule!’ and it just gives that power back to the consumer and allow[s] them to be confident in their decision.”

Who wants a 12

During orientation, Brandcenter professor Kevin Rothermel said that “when you’re on a team, you should be the leader.” This idea resonated with Hunter. “Every single person needs to own things. As soon as you say, ‘Oh, I’m not the leader,’ now they’re having to also manage you along with the other tasks.” This thought permeates throughout the EBTB team and allows them to trust that everyone knows handle things even outside of the core team. That’s not the only quality that EBTB feels drives entrepreneurship. “Drive,” says Andrew. “Believe in your idea. Because if you don’t, it’s going to suck, and the business is going to suck.”

SHELFIE 2023___

Entrepreneurship

Working Together The team met at the VCU Brandcenter in a Creative Thinking class, where they were tasked to come up with three viable business ideas in two weeks. After their pitches in class, they realized that they could just continue developing the brand, and so far, they’ve been able to do limited releases, as well as tabling at local Richmond restaurants and businesses.

But that hasn’t required them to sacrifice their personal relationship. According to Celeste, there was no part of them that has diluted any of their fun dynamic. Since they’re busy graduate students, Catherine says, EBTB has been a kind of “beacon” for them to look forward to each week, and that “it’s something we can all kind of have fun with”. It helps create a sense of unity, and play, and fun that comes through in how EBTB presents itself as a company and a product, per Andrew. Those values drive their marketing. Hunter says that, since they’re a non-alcoholic brand, they can legally do and say a lot more in their marketing that alcoholic brands can’t. “We’re almost, like, stealing their clout, or stealing what they can’t say, and we can own it. And there’s something kind of, like, punk about that that’s really fun that I resonate with as a creator.” It keeps the fun energy moving. “Don’t drink responsibly”.

The Future

Taste?

“We’re going on all of these dates, but no one wants to get on their knee and propose.” That’s how Hunter describes where the brand is right now.

Numerous people have told them that they like the product and that it’s a really good idea. They’ve been able to hold taste tests in public, but they haven’t been able to find investors. But they have been popping up in the Richmond community. For example, they worked with Garden Grove Brewing to produce a limited run of cans and got help with kegs from Owl Spoon Water Kefir. They’ve done tastings at Point 5, an alcohol-free bottle shop as well as the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. “The whole community has been very supportive,” says Celeste. What proved to be a game changer for them was Demo Day 2023 at the da Vinci Center. They were able to refine their pitch with Garrett Westlake, and they were awarded some seed funding. Being able to bring the product to a wider audience has been helpful - but they are still waiting on that proposal.

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The story of Zola, the star of Treehouse Adventures Books,

Na

second grade while discovering the world with a hearing disability. Zola is not only the embodiment of bravery, but she is a parallel to the author, Narita Snead. She has been

ad

a Sne t i r

is one of authenticity and inspiration. A young girl conquers

profoundly deaf since birth, and these books are meant to showcase the challenges the people who can’t hear well face in a world of people who do.

Narita Snead created Zola and the Treehouse Adventures Books with the goal of “mak[ing] the world a little bit more friendly, and showcas[ing] disability representation, especially of minority children.” There is a major disparity among the representation of disabilities in children’s literature versus the actual population of children that live with disabilities. According to the CDC, over 1 in 6 children have developmental disabilities. However, only 3.4% of children’s literature actually depicts disability at all (Cooperative Children’s Book Center). Narita is here to change that.

She has put her heart and soul into Treehouse Adventures to get it off the ground. From bootstrapping to selling body butters, Narita channeled her passion and determination into getting Zola’s stories into people’s hands. Now, you can find these books in multiple booksellers online and in person. She also has a prototype of a Zola doll, complete with cochlear hearing aids, that she hopes to bring to market as well, as she gets many requests for it from people that

“Innovation… it truly lives here.”

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Story by Kayani Jaramillo & Jordan Faveri

SHELFIE 2023___

Z ol a

Treehouse Adventures

Narita joined the Shelfie 2023 cohort to continue to develop Treehouse Adventures and help her bring these goals to fruition. But it has been much more than that. “We really support and encourage each other.” Narita explains. “I am given all these different perspectives which I think makes for a better product, a better outcome, and a more satisfied me.” She says that the community at SHIFT has opened her eyes to new opportunities for improvement, new resources that she had not heard of before, as well as networking and collaboration.

So where is Treehouse Adventure going next? Narita’s next goal is to extend it to a full series and bring it to big box stores like Target to reach even wider audiences to tell Zola’s story.

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THE BRAND Committed to deliver natural hair care solutions for children, crafted from plant-derived ingredients, and enriched with the essence of fruits indigenous to the island of Jamaica. LushUs Kids is on a mission to create products that are gentle, non-toxic, and deeply nourishing.

By placing safety as their top priority and minimizing the chances of irritation and allergies, we strive to empower parents in adopting wholesome hair care routines while cherishing and embracing the exquisite beauty found within diversity.

HER STORY Cherlyn Carby is the founder of LushUs Kids, a hair care line for kids with all hair types.

Cherlyn joined SHIFT in Spring 2023 but her products were already in the market. Since the Shelfie program, LushUs Kids has grown immensely, as well as Cherlyn’s confidence in herself and her products.

Since her time in the program, Cherlyn has done events in New York and participated in the Essence Fest in New Orleans as a vendor.

Her products are available on Amazon, Walmart.com, and beauty supply stores across the country. Cherlyn has a vision- her ultimate goal is to be a household name.

With her five year plan and her tenacity, she feels she is so close to dedicating her time fully to her business.

“I’ve grown. I knew that I would. My vision is always for LushUs Kids to be big and I know that’s what it’s going to be.”

Although she was already in the market, Cherlyn says that her time at SHIFT helped her in the perfect time- just before all of her big events to build brand awareness. She says that SHIFT helped her with her brand story and pitches. When meeting Cherlyn, you would never guess that she preferred to stay behind the scenes of her brand.

With the help of the Shelfie program, Cherlyn has gained the confidence to be the face of her brand and pitch it with passion.

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Sol Essentials® Rise

SHELFIE 2023___

Soliel Lindsey

Story by Ian Devenish & Jordan Faveri

Her Story

On the morning of September 29, 2023, Soleil was at her old high school doing an entrepreneurship fair. It was a full circle moment for her, she says, because she hadn’t been there since 2009, when she got arrested. “I started there, and I could have just kept going to jail my whole life, and just still been there.

But I decided to, like, do a 180 because of that incident, because I realized jail was not for me, and I had no business being there in the first place.” With Sol Rise, she hopes to show people that if she can make it, they can make it too. However, Sol Rise didn’t come about until the pandemic, when she was left unable to work her real estate job due to health issues. Left with a long period of time, she looked at herself and decided that she wanted to start a business like she had considered doing for a while.

Since she was already interested in fashion, she started making hats and t-shirts with quotes she hoped would inspire people, and now she’s selling online and has the interest of local retailers.

Her Vision

Soleil’s overall vision for her company is to “empower resilient humans to feel seen, heard and transformed via community”. Through the inspirational affirmations on her products, Soleil hopes that her customers can “share their personal stories and connections with other people”. Sol Rise Essentials is based on the idea that you’re not only wearing that quote for yourself, but for other people you pass by who may need that inspiration to brighten their day as well.

Her Product

Sol Rise Essentials is Soleil Lindsey’s brand of clothing and apparel with messages designed to promote the importance of mental wellness with phrases like “pack light” and “do good, be good”.

Her products are intended for the whole family, and she sells hats, shirts, jewelry, pins, and more for children and for adults.

She sells primarily online, but is looking to expand into big-box retailers, and have a warehouse.

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Her Impact Every company looking to expand needs investors, and Soleil is in the process of looking for them. She has a clear vision for how she wants her business to be run. “I want to see myself in other people’s stores like wellness studios, yoga studios, big box stores.” Of course, a bigger retail presence necessitates a bigger manufacturing and processing pipeline, and she intends to take the packing process out of her own home office and into a warehouse with multiple employees. Currently, she works with manufacturers in Richmond and internationally to make the products, but she handles the packing herself. “I feel like that’s going to be the next step, even if it’s just something small, but we gotta get out of my house.” None of that needs to come at the cost of a reasonable work-life balance, though. “I want to travel and I want to be present with my child. Like, I’m going to work hard, but you know, if I have the option to go on vacation, I want to do that too. I don’t want to physically, you know, be laborious every single day.”

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SHELFIE 2023__ 21

TOw NINJA Tow Ninja is the first ever platform built to help connect vehicle owners and tow truck companies, but in a way that’s transparent, fair, and equitable for everyone involved.

where are they now?

Story by Ian Devenish & Sydney Wilson

What inspired you to get started?

I started Tow Ninja after I myself was towed. I was out on a date with this girl, and it was going great, and we’re walking back to my car to go home, and it’s not where I left it.

I was like, I could have sworn I parked right here. I was scrambling, looking for signs and whatnot, and there was nothing there. So, what was a great night ended up being one of the most embarrassing times of my life, and so I was like, there has to be a better way to be towed.

What’s a quality about yourself that has helped on your journey?

I think it’s a few things. Not like any one particular quality. I think it’s just how I try to live my life. I’m the type of person to say yes to every opportunity, and see where it goes.

I call them side quests. I love to take a side quest and go out there and just get that experience. You never know who you’re going to meet or talk to or be connected with, and so just being open and always happy, too, you can’t go into business pessimistic, right, because you’re never going to get anywhere.

I think, controversial as he is, Donald Trump has a really cool quote where he’s like, ‘if you’re going to dream, you might as well dream big’. And so I imbue that all the time with everything I do. If there’s a problem right here, I’m like, all right, well, let’s shoot up there and let’s see if we can hit that mark. And I think that’s helped me get to where I’m at now.

Where are you now and where are you going?

Right now we’re based in Harrisonburg. We’ve secured the city, so that means we have endorsements from the Harrisonburg Police Department. We’re working with the towers, the tow companies in Harrisonburg, and we just launched and we have over 200 profiles already signed up on our account. Right now we’re just running tows through the system, telling people where their car is and making it easier for everybody. [We’re looking to go] to the moon, honestly. But to start small, we’re expanding right now out to Charlottesville and here in Richmond.

So my goal is by the end of December for Tow Ninja to be live and active here in the city of Richmond, helping people find their vehicles.

Why do you like SHIFT Retail Lab? It gives me a great working space, gives me great connections with the faculty and staff here that run it.

They know everybody in the city, I think. And so when you have a Demo Day, and when you have just, honestly, meetings, just people coming in and connecting or catching up, I’ll be sitting there and they’ll be like, oh, hey, by the way, this is Jack, and then boom, something cool happens or some opportunity arises, and so, yeah, there’s so much going on at this place. My recommendation for anybody who wants to get involved with SHIFT is just show up, be here, and it’s like fishing, just go there and catch as much as you can.

“I st diffe arted thi rent nking up I wou ideas for ld us t hings e and just t hen start ed ma ki them. ng ”

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Explore

David’s Plant Based Products A Vital Lifestyle Change

Story by Jordan Faveri & Charles Wade

David’s Plant Based Products came to be after a vital lifestyle change in founder Melissa Gough’s life. Five years ago, Melissa was diagnosed with diabetes and was recommended by her doctor to either begin taking regular medications, or to lose 17 pounds. After attempting healthier eating habits, Gough ended up losing 27 pounds and and she discovered a new lifestyle for herself. The lifestyle began with minimizing food intake with the “7 inch plate theory”and then slowly, white flour became wheat flour, white oats became wheat oats, and animal products became plant based.

Melissa used this new realization and recipes to create her own line of meals to help others “eat healthier so you can stay here so you don't depend on the medicine, and you don't depend on the food that was making you sick”.

“Never give up or give out, & a lways be in contro l of the situation .”

- Melissa Goug

h

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Food for All

David’s Plant Based Products focuses on convenient and healthy meals for the whole family. Gough developed a whole wheat pasta line with plant based meat and says “there’s nothing like it anywhere” as most companies cook with white pasta. The line includes lasagna, ravioli, and even “spaghetti and meatballs and the jumbo big roni for the kids,” says Gough. It is important to her that she create meals that appeal to kids as well. “Kids need to eat healthy too, so when they start up like that, they’ll continue on.” David’s Plant Based also makes Sloppy Joes, burritos, tacos meatloaf, and 10 different ice creams. The meals come frozen in sealed packaging to your door with same day delivery to make cooking a stress-free experience.

The Vision Melissa’s overall goal is “to make everyone realize when you say plant based, they don't need to run”.

Plant based food often sounds unappealing to someone who has consumed animal products their entire life and Gough aims to break this stigma with her recipes. The meals that Melissa has created are aimed to jumpstart one’s lifestyle of healthy eating and prevent unsustainable alternatives such as diets and medications. She says, “ I'm trying to get it so they'll enjoy the food so they don't have to take the medicine. That's the whole point”.

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Story by Ian Devenish

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INSPIRATION CALLING. Saamiya had a dream of opening up a bakery since she was really young. 2020 was when she first started selling her cakes, the pandemic had just started. It was difficult to think about marketing herself at this time, but she realized people needed something, like a sweet treat. That notion helped her figure out a way to give people something to smile about that was really special to her.

ROADBLOCKS? My biggest setback/roadblock is balancing school, and making sweet treats, and also working. Finding a balance of not stretching myself too thin, has been my biggest hurdle. Luckily, in Virginia you don’t need a license to sell out of your home, so that helps and allows me to focus on the baking and establishing myself as an LLC.

I haven’t really had someone to look up to personally for the baking aspect of it, but I’d say my mom has been a really big supporter, and also inspiration just to keep going ever since I can remember. Both my parents, have supported me pursuing my dreams, and they always say, try to make a name for yourself rather than relying on someone else. I don’t know if inspiration is the right word, but they’ve definitely helped me stay on my path.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? I’m looking forward to establishing Piece of Cake into a brick and mortar bakery.

That’s definitely the end goal. I don’t know where, but in some of city. Probably not Richmond. I’ve lived here for ten years, and I feel there is more to explore and Richmond I condsider just my starting locationl I was born in Chicago, so maybe Chicago? Or even Toronto. I really like Canada. Those two are the places I am considering at the moment.

The biggest part of my process is kind of personal.

I have dietary restrictions. Some of my family members along with myself have struggled with having to scour through every single ingredient and having to ask people, what is your source of this and that? It started off as a personal thing but then I realized I could make people’s lives easier, including my own by just starting to test all vegan recipes. My grandmother got COVID, and couldn’t have gluten or dairy products. That then had me testing gluten free, dairy free options. it all kind of started with the people around me. Stepping back I soon learned a lot of people have dietary restrictions, that made me decided to never create something that makes someone feel like they’re left out. So that’s kind of the biggest driver of my process.

“Feedback Friday was my favorite part of SHIFT. I loved seeing people’s progression in their pitches and their confidence soar.”

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WHAT’S MY PROCESS?

“I’ve seen cakes that look this pretty before but never any that tasted this delcious!!”

— customer review

Learn More: Follow her tasty adventure @piece_of_cake

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Meet C’est Lä Vé!

We took a moment to sit down with entreprenuer Yosef Mirakov Cohen to learn more about his SHIFT journey, and all about what he has been up to since bringing his big idea to life.

Story by Sydney Wilson

So how long have you been at SHIFT? Wow. I think the first thing I did with SHIFT was a couple of years ago already. I did the Demo Day two years ago with a different product. A year later, I did another accelerator program that you have here. I did that with this business, it went really well. Then I also presented at Demo Day. I got the $5,000 seed funding from that, and that really helped me to start the business, and start making the product, at least the better version of it. And yeah, say, two years ago, I’m kind of in touch with the da Vinci Center in general.

What have you done with that $5,000 that you won at Demo Day? I bought a machine that helped me, basically, to start making the trays, the old trays. It’s a tray sealing machine, a very low cost basic machine. It basically, like I said, helped me start making a product so I can give it to people, sell it in farmers’ markets, and get people’s feedback, and just understand the market, pretty much.

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SHELFIE 2023___ “At C’est Lä Vé, we make, manufacture and sell plant based charcuterie packs, we call them luncheries. Pretty much a spin off of Lunchables, for adults, in compostable packaging, focused on sustainability and animal rights, as well as transparency.”

And I imagine the quantity that you can produce now is a lot more with that machine.

When was it that you realized that the vegan Lunchable is something that you should make?

Yeah. After that machine, I got a bigger vacuum tray sealing chamber machine, and with this machine, I can seal six packs at a time, where at that time, we used to seal only one at a time. I can make 200 packs in an hour, where I could make 15 or 20 back then.

I’ve been pondering on that idea for two years to be exact. When I doubled down on it, I was working at Amazon for a year as a picker, like doing Instacart types of orders, and I noticed that people buy Lunchables like crazy. It’s a very in-demand product, and that’s why it was like the seed for the thought. After doing that for a year with Amazon, I left Amazon, and I started to do market research on if there was anything like that. Is there anything, and what can I do, and how can I make it better than what already is in the market? I would say a year-and-a-half ago, a little bit more, I started the business officially in March 2022, so I’d say the idea was in my head at least from August or July 2021. It was just boiling in my head slowly.

Still on the topic of SHIFT, tell us about your favorite moment at SHIFT. Demo Day last year, it was amazing, man. Just presenting all the business and bringing it to life. Up until that day, it was just an idea. I didn’t really add anything. I didn’t have the packaging, I didn’t have anything. I just had an idea of a vegan Lunchable product. And with SHIFT, they really expanded me into where I can make it, how can I bring it to life? And that’s how I met Ryan from Hatch Kitchen, which is a commercial kitchen for rent, for businesses that start with food manufacturing and stuff like that. So, yeah, I’ll say that moment was Demo Day and being at the SHIFT retail store for a couple of months, and getting feedback, and getting introduced to people in the industry and just understanding how this whole thing works.

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What’s a quality about yourself that you think has been important in being able to get where you are with your business?

My values. The only thing that really made me stay with this business is the care for animals and animal rights. I’ve been vegan for almost a decade now, and I’ve been thinking about quitting so many times. So I want to say persistence, because I’m still doing it. But what made me persistent, and made me stick with this, is the concept of that I’m doing it to save lives. I’m doing it to make a change in this world, and leave an impact. Even if it’s not just directly not eating meat, and eating vegan products, it’s even in the packaging, it’s 100% compostable. It’s telling something in the market to bigger brands like, listen, the industry is moving to more green packaging. So I want to be a leader in that aspect as well, to make that change, and make bigger brands understand that people want more sustainable packaging.

So you’re using your product as a way to make an impact on the world.

Are you looking to work in bigger facilities to produce even more?

Pretty much, 100%. I will say that the business is more of a story and idea, more than a product. Like, the product is a way to translate the mission, and the purpose of what we do is promoting animal rights and sustainability. And we did it in a beautiful way, by making a plant based product in compostable packaging.

Yes. So currently I’m relocating from Virginia to California. I’m renting a pretty small kitchen there right now, starting November 1st.

And as demand over there, I believe will go much faster than over here. Because of the size of the market and the size of plant based enthusiasts over there, I believe that the kitchen and the operation will grow pretty fast.

What were you doing before your journey to create this?

Story by Ian Devenish & Sydney Wilson

I was all over the place. I was working at VCU at that time, and Amazon, I was working two places, as graphic designer at VCU, the Student Commons, and then after I graduated, I started to work at Amazon. I was just working at Amazon for a while, and that’s it. I started this business, and after I finished with Amazon, I started working at CoStar full time. This is where I’m working right now, actually about to leave in two weeks and go full time with the business.

When you say go full time with your business, what does that entail?

No other obligations to anything besides living, breathing, and growing the business. Everything that’s going to be on my mind, and is currently on my mind, is how can I make more impact and reach more people and change the world, you know?

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WHat does it take to be an EntrepREneur?

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PROCESS ______

A Work In

PROCESS

Story by Jordan Faveri & Ian Devenish

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SHIFT welcomes entrepreneurs at every stage of the process -

starting with the idea. After all, that’s the way products get created. Being able to fully flesh out an idea is a skill in and of itself, and there have been many Shelfies who have come to SHIFT with just that.

Anne Saunders is a high school junior who designs and sells painting kits for kids and teenagers through her business Glass Memories.

What made you think of this product? Was there a time when you felt like this was something that people needed?

For me, when this really started coming into getting this business idea was last year in my sophomore year of high school. I go to a specialty center for entrepreneurship in high Morada Bowls is Laila Dajani’s “help yourself” smoothie bar that aims to make smoothie school. So I switched my businesses in between freshman bowls a fun experience with unlimited customization. and sophomore year, and I always loved painting, so I went to my teacher and was like, what can I do with this? And she gave me the idea of maybe doing the painting kit.

What inspired you to

come up with this?

Current companies limit the amount of smoothie and/or toppings that they give, and controlled portion limits are not satisfying to customers.

I’ve noticed that at smoothie companies, customers will be unsatisfied with either too much portion, too little portion, or vice versa with the smoothie base, and so I started making them at home. And I noticed that a lot of my peers were coming to me, because I made it how they wanted, and I would ask them, what toppings do you want? How much toppings do you want? Do you want more base? Do you want more toppings?

It would be like a custom made order. So I noticed that they would prefer that over going to these smoothie businesses.

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IDEATION

Before you can develop a prototype, entrepreneurs need to figure out who their potential audience might even be. Doing research to further develop the idea is key to being able to continue on the path of entrepreneurship, and Shelfies are encouraged to use their shelves as a means to do so.

Taylor Allen is an elementary school teacher who’s seeking to make a daily letter puzzle game that’s fun for all ages.

Can you tell us about a favorite moment or favorite memory of SHIFT?

How has your experience working as a teacher kind of affected your relationship with this product?

PROCESS ______

RESEARCH Yeah, it’s made me see it as something that is really worth pursuing, because I have the really positive feedback of kids, and kids are willing to tell you exactly how much they like or don’t like something. So I have a very eager and unfiltered test audience at any time. But it has also kind of been an interesting relationship within this product, because a lot of times people see the game and want it to be more educational. And I’m coming from an education background and intentionally making something that is not made to be used as an educational tool, and so that’s been really interesting. It’s kind of like knowing when to bring in the education background and when to let it be laid low.

Yeah, I think my second round as a Shelfie was really big for me, because it was the first time that I really viewed myself as an entrepreneur. Going into this has been really eye opening for me in the kinds of boxes that we tend to put ourselves into. For example, it has been a hurdle for me to start thinking of myself as something more than a teacher, and kind of breaking through the impostor syndrome, for lack of a better word, just to try to tell myself, like, no, I can do this. And having other people kind of reiterating to me that this was a business idea, that this is my business idea, and telling me that makes you an entrepreneur. If you have this business idea and you’re pursuing it, then you’re doing the work, and just having that kind of reinforced me. And I think, like, a specific time, I really enjoyed some of the mentor conversations that I’ve had just to kind of ask questions and get feedback on a really quick basis.

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PROCESS ______

Cody Jung of FounderWay is seeking You can’t just jump into production. To put an idea into production, you need to have a prototype from which to work, and the Shelf can be a kind of proving ground for as many revisions of a prototype are necessary in order to get the feedback a Shelfie needs to begin production.

to provide new entrepreneurs with a customized AI copilot to help them with running their company at every step of the way, going from idea to first customer.

How long have you been developing this idea?

Different versions of it have been around for me since 2019, technically. It’s gone through, like, three pivots at this point, where one was more like a template, and then one is a guided structure that kind of outputs into like one-pagers. We call them our templates. And then now it’s like, hey, AI’s out. We’re actually positioned really well because we’re asking these really core questions that can just with those a nswers in context, like actually really deeply personalized, a general AI to help with stuff.

What would you say your big vision is?

I consider myself an underserved founder in a couple dimensions. One of them, education, though, is a big one, I think. And so, our big vision is, right now, the average incubator acceptance rate floats around 1-3%, so we say, like, 2%. So there’s on average 98% of new founders that are coming out, trying to get into these incubators, and some are even second time founders that are like, hey, I need an incubator to help me and they’re just not getting in, and we think that correlates really highly with the fact that there is a 90% fail rate within the first year of a company. So our big vision is to increase the education access to hopefully increase the success rate from 10% to who knows, like, if we double it, that’s double the amount of innovation, and double the amount of companies that can exist where someone’s chasing their dream. So that’s kind of what we’re trying to do with the data and AI approach.

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PROTOTYPE

IN THE MARKET There are some Shelfies who already have established their companies and who have begun to sell, but traditional (and even a lot of newer) sales channels don’t really provide a good way to hear customers’ suggestions. SHIFT is a place to do that, as these next few Shelfies demonstrate.

Born out of a period of deep self-reflection during the pandemic, Mason Miles sells clothes and apparel designed to help people overcome their insecurities and gain confidence through his brand Dress

Yourself.

For

What’s your goal for the future of the company?

Hopefully we can get into stores. That’s what we want to see. I want to see people look at my thing on a rack, and really make that decision, like, oh, do I want to buy this? And I want to see people wear my stuff more. Cause I did a collaboration with SHIFT last year and I saw people wear my stuff, I was seeing people wear my stuff today and it’s just, it’s a great feeling.

3000Realm is Zaza Willis’ queer

identity-focused jewelry brand. Much of their jewelry is made of sustainable and recycled materials. They started this as a way to make queer people feel like they can have access to jewelry that is about reclamation and self-identification. They’ve been in the market for around 4 years now.

What’s a quality about yourself that you think has been important?

Getting to where you are, being personable, being very friendly.

I’m very anxious and shy, which is not something people usually think about me, but I’m really good at talking on the fly. But also being a person who’s willing to admit to people, hey, I’m anxious, but I’d really love to talk to you about this. I feel like being personable has really helped me, because a lot of people are like, yeah, I’m anxious too, and your stuff was so cool, it was so overwhelming, but I’m glad that you told me, so now I feel more comfortable to talk to you about it.

And also I end up leaving with so many friends after tabling events, because I’m tabling, and I end up talking and chatting, and then they get so comfortable, which is good, but then also they’re like, yeah, do you want to keep talking? But I think being personable, and also just putting in a lot of effort and not stopping, just like even if I hit a wall figuring out how to work around it. Like the grant thing, I don’t have money, or rather, I don’t have money, but I don’t want to buy a camera if I don’t have to because that’s a lot of money. So I’ve been like, let me do a workaround. Let’s see if I can apply to a grant. Let’s see, where can we work around that?

As opposed to being like, well, I don’t have a camera.

I guess I’ll have to just give up at this point, you know what I’m saying? Which is like, how I used to be. But definitely keep working through it.

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PROCESS ______

All About Andy Pitts Andy Pitts is a graduate student at VCU in the Master of Product Innovation program and is using his degree to aid him in developing his own product. Andy comes from an array of educational backgrounds including creative writing, psychology, philosophy, sociology, mass communication, and management. “My educational philosophy at the time,” Andy explains, “was that I really was seeking different perspectives of different disciplines. And since then, it’s broadened to seeking perspectives from all different kinds of experiences”.

Problem to Solution Andy recently moved to Richmond VA and has a goal of building bicycling into his lifestyle. Not only does he reap the physical and mental health benefits of cycling, but “I appreciate the joy of it,” he says. Andy also uses cycling as a way to socialize. “I didn’t know a whole lot of people so I wanted to get out more”. After getting an understanding of the ways of the roads in Richmond with the often reckless drivers and lack of bike lanes, he noticed there was a lot of “friction” between cyclists, drivers and pedestrians. Andy was quick to desire a solution. “Instead of everybody just being mad at each other all the time, there’s gotta be a better way to think about this communication thing”.

Visi 42

Andy’s Vision After Andy recognized the problem at hand, he began to get to work. “I thought, well, let me use the tools that are available to me here at the product innovation. So I started prototyping on products”.

Initially, He prototyped a reflective glove to aid with turn signal visibility from bikers, but after some feedback, he learned that a glove was not desirable in the summer heat, nor did it produce enough light to be worthwhile. With helpful feedback and recommendations from his peers, he decided to shift. He began prototyping a new idea he describes as an arm band that has “LED lights in it, and it has a 3D gesture sensor so that when you raise your arm, it flashes like a car’s turn signal”. This is more visible and understandable than the last prototype, and he is also working to make it more comfortable. Along with this prototyping, Andy is also building business plans and doing customer discovery.

cyc l e Story by Jordan Faveri

The End Goal Andy is still in the feedback stage of his process, but still has big goals and visions for his product. Andy says his overall vision for VisiCycle is to make Richmond a bicycling city. Product-wise, he wants to make “something that people would feel comfortable putting in their pocket and taking around with them and durable enough to last for a long time”.

s a n a e m e m to e v i t c e p nd a y t “Pers i s o i cur f o n o i t a tts i P combin y d n A .” n o i t c e n n co

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Story by Ian Devenish

The Master of Product Innovation (MPI) at VCU is designed for creative thinkers and doers from a wide range of undergraduate backgrounds who want to ideate and launch innovative products, projects and initiatives in some of the world’s most leading edge companies. Meet Dr. Barrett Peters, who is a pediatric dentist working on a career pivot, and is currently an MPI student developing a prototype for a way to help breathing conditions in children.

WHAT INSPIRED THIS PROJECT? When I went to the European Innovation Academy this past summer, I actually got on Google I went to the European Innovation Academy this past summer, I actually got on Google Maps to see where we were going to be in our dorm, and we happened to be really close to the dental school in Portugal. I teach, I’m a part time faculty here in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the Children’s Hospital. So I knew different people in the literature and across the country, but also in different countries. And there’s a gentleman over there, Dr. David Casimiro de Andrade [Chair, Unit of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Porto, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Portugal]. I got to know this gentleman, and I reached out to him. I said, listen, I’d love to hear about innovations in technology cross-culturally, what’s going on in Portugal? Can I get a tour? And he said, I’d love to give you a tour. I’d love to meet you, but I’d love for you to lecture. And so that kind of stressed me out a little bit, but I was like, oh, cool. I’ll give you a lecture.

So I gave a lecture to the residents, and that evening we had a nice lunch. And then that evening I met back up with him and had a dinner out where he lives on the coast, on the Atlantic coast, and I met up with him a couple weeks later for another dinner. And he slid a couple papers across the desk and said, this is some of my research, this is some of my case studies, I’ve been studying these children, and this is just a terrible problem and we don’t know how to fix it, because obviously the children need to breathe, but it causes a secondary issue. So he said, you know, I’d love for you to think about this.

So it’s not something I’m really terribly thinking about developing a product, but more than anything, if it leads to that, great. If not, it’s just an opportunity, really, for me to learn how to 3D print and learn how to design things three-dimensionally. And that may lead to something else.

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PROCESS ______

WHAT IS BARRETT DEVELOPING? It’s an 18 piece 3D printed skull held together neodymium magnets, and there is a concept that I’m thinking about. I’m formally trained as a pediatric dentist, and so I have a lot of background in pediatric craniofacial growth and development. There are a couple of conditions that exist with children that need positive pressure oxygen through their nose early in life.

With the current treatments for these children, a lot of them need to have something strapped to the back of their head. And what happens is, as they grow, in those first few years, as their face is developing, the maxilla, which is the bone that holds your upper teeth, is pushed backwards.

So what happens is, it deforms their face, and because of this facial deformity, later on in life, they have to have different types of surgeries.

It creates breathing issues. There’s all sorts of conditions that occur from this. I’m looking at figuring out a way to mount or somehow still get these children the positive pressure oxygen they need, but not create a maxillary deficiency at the same time. It’s just a very early idea of something that I’m thinking about, and a problem that exists that I’m interested in figuring out how to solve.

MOMENTS AS AN MPI I’m just getting started. I’m a little bit older than a lot of the other students. So I think what I find interesting is, as a hard science person and as a natural science person, as a clinician, it’s been interesting to see that there’s actually data and a method behind improvement, behind innovation. And so for me to step into an environment that’s very foreign to me with people that are quite different and have different backgrounds than I do, to come together to solve more complex problems, because a lot of simple problems have been solved, but these more complex problems can’t really be solved by one person individually. So learning the process of design thinking, learning the process of all these different things we’re learning is quite interesting to me. So I think the coolest thing I see is how many different disciplines are stitched together, and you’re able to get in the macro and the micro at the same time.

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Dress for Yourself

TEST

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INVEST

Find all new styles here: www.dressforyourself.com

SHOP

Shift

SHOP TEST

INVEST

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TreeHouse Adventures A children's book that promotes empathy, inclusion, and education of childhood hearing loss within the communitiy

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2024

Glass Memories Glass Memories designs and sells painting kits for kids and teenagers! We currently offer two sizes, 8x10 and 5x7. At Glass Memories , our mission is to provide a fun and creative environment for people to come together and explore their artistic talents. We believe that everyone has an inner artist waiting to be unleashed, and we're here to help make that happen!

Follow our social media at: glass_.memories GlassMemories

Linktree: linktr.ee/glass_memories

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Apply to be a

SHELFIE

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To an entrepreneur, failure is something you’ll encounter often.

Those who have been at it for awhile know to face it head-on and persist - even when it seems impossible. No one knows what is going to block their path, and being willing to take risks is the secret to success for an entrepreneur. At the same time, it’s important to be able to do so in a space where you can recover.

How to Fail

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Story by Jordan Faveri & Ian Devenish

“Take your opportunities as they come, and then, if you can’t make it work, drop it and move on to something else that you can make work.” - Andy Pitts

“If we’ve ever gotten a no, or we’ve ever been disappointed, it’s because of a reason. So my recommendation is,… if someone has ever told you no or a door has closed, I feel like they should ask questions early on” - Cherlyn Carby

“Being okay with watching yourself not achieve a deadline, being okay with watching yourself not meet your own standard that you set” - Taylor Allen “If you don’t believe in your product, you don’t believe that it’s a good idea, then like, it’s gonna fail. No matter whether it is actually a good idea or not” - Peyton Spangler

There’s gonna be a lot of times where... you might feel like you’re a drop in the bucket, but you gotta remember what makes you stand out and hold on to that” - Mason Miles “A setback feels like really negative in terms of like in the design centric world. You’re always just trying to get feedback in a line closer to what your customer wants” - Cody Jung “You’re always taking one step forward and two steps back, but then after a while, you end up taking like 15, 30, 50 steps forward all at once, and it’s because you learn from your mistakes.”

- Jack Oppenheim

“You’re going to fail eleven times before you break even” - Andy Pitts

90%

of startups fail

- Forbes

*JUST DO IT! NO RISK, NO MAGIC! 53

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DID YOU KNOW That it takeS

days

21

to build a new habit?

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St idea art an jour nal.

dail Start a y gr jour atitude nal. cold y! ea a Tak er tod w sho

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Go fo eve r a wa ry lk d a y!

This is your chance to try to incorporate one of these 8 activities used by productive people into your everyday!

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ab it T

! ay Od

n i p S

to Start a N ew H

Cut along the dotted line to take a mantra with you!

CAN’t STOP WON’t STOP

NO RISK NO MAGIC!

YOU’VE GOT THIS!

TAKE 3 DEEP BREATHS!

Don’t Be Afraid to be afAID!

DREAM BIG. START SMALL!

REMEMBER WHY YOU STARTED!

BELIEVE IT BEFORE YOU SEE IT!

Cut along the dotted line to take a mantra with you!

Saamiya from A Piece of Cake speaks on her passion revolving around helping others,

“I feel like I have a lot of social capital, and just opportunities I’ve been able to gain come as a result of me just having a good relationship with people.”

“The key is getting out and meeting people, forming friendships, relationships, and that curiosity means being open minded about the experiences that you have, even if they are negative.

- Andy Pitts, Owner VisiCycle

“I feel like that kind of helped me in a way just to give to people something to smile about that was really special to me.”

- Soleil, Owner Sol Rise Essentials

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g methin o s s n s mea e.

Succes veryon e o t ent differ map to d a o r is your f o Use th s w t the la save i d define n a , ccess . own su erence f e r e tur for fu

TASK:

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>>> SHIFT Retail Lab Edition

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Behind th 62

e Scenes How to make a magazine in weeks, when you’ve never done anything like it before.

15

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The Class at a Gla

3 6 6 20 30

Instructors

Students Different Disciplines

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Interviews Conducted Days of Class

nc

e...

Lloyd Young da Vinci Center

KT Schaeffer Brandcenter

BEHIND THE SCENES___

*

This course is a cross-disciplinary, project-based course where students will build on the foundational principles and practices of visual design by directly applying their skills to create a magazine for SHIFT Retail Lab. All students experiment in construcing content through design thinking, graphic design, and branding.

Jessica Collins Brandcenter

Cheyenne Boyd Ian Devenish Jordan Faveri Kayani Jaramillo Charles Wade Sydney Wilson

Strategic Advertising Creative Advertising Interior Design da Vinci Center Marketing Graphic Design Past and Present Shelfies Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:30-2:45pm at the SHIFT Retail lab and da Vinci

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BEHIND THE SCENES___

Meet the Maker s! e product h t f o t r a We are a p ss taught at the cla innovation nd under the SHIFT nter a da Vinci Ce urse was focused on o lab. This c innovation, design ion, g collaborat gy plannin e t a r st d n thinking, a and with the help y us all done b instructors. of our

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INSPIR E KT Schaeffer

r

e Director + Professo Brandcenter Creativ

ologie and now KT has worked for Nike, and Anthrop ndcenter. She teaches all things Creative at the Bra d being able to enjoys waking up everyday feeling goo , KT has broken give back as much as possible. Fun fact nt part of the every finger TWICE. And an importa ht behind any process for KT is the research and insig ” ing. project; she says “it is very reward

Lloyd Young

Director of Innovation and Co-Founder Design at VCU da Vinci Center and of SHIFT Retail Lab

the SHIFT Lloyd is looking forward to developing She’s working brand to expand into multiple labs. t couple on creating a Shift food lab in the nex hen and kitc of years for students to have a test venture cafe environment to experiment with ideas in the food and bev industry.

And Lloyd is also a fanatic of whales!

M R O F IN

Jess Collins Associate Professor,

VCU Brandcenter

Order aficionadowho Jess is a huge Law and tion. Her process loves the idea of reinven idea down. Draw involves; Writing every See a rough visual. it out on sketch paper.

Press repeat.

Start over. Fine tune. ing about any And she knows everyth r.

Bravo show - just ask he

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Jordan Faveri

Masters of Interdisciplinary

EXP

Studies

Jordan is an internation al student from Canada who currently plays for VCU woman’s soccer team.

She wants to prioritize traveling and exploring different cultu res, while maintaining a hobby th at will have a positive im pact on her community. Some of Jordan’s ways to destr ess are going for walks and sitting in the park with music or a podcast.

LOR E

Sydney Wilson Communication Arts

s to Washington D.C., want Sydney Originally from r/ ne sig de as a video game combine tech and art goals are to continue developer. Her current le. and meeting new peop traveling, making art, als go ng out her Her process involves writi r, then making a road on a giant piece of pape get done, how to do it, map on what needs to and by when.

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BEHIND THE SCENES___ nish

Ian Deve

n ncentratio ns with co o ti a ic n u m Mass Com ing e Advertis v ti a re in C there for

nd lived llas, Texas a a D wants to in rn o b Virginia. He cy in to Ian was g in v o m before size agen three years all-to-mideen sm a t a r te c and has b be a copywri Ian also composes musi And Richmond. highschool. singing since

Cheyenne Boyd Strategic Advertising

Cheyenne is a crazy cat mom and bartender who aspires to be a brand strategist for an athletic wear company or sports team. Her career aspirations include doing something she loves and gives her the time to travel the world. Cheyenne’s process involves writing everything down and sketching out as many ideas possible before simplifying.

Charles Wade Interdisciplinary Studies

s kinds of art who want Charles is a lover of all g keter. He enjoys skatin to be a designer /mar ’ les ar Ch e. once in awhil and a sweet treat every g storming and takin process is built on brain o the action. notes before getting int

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ABOUT dA VINCI

THANKS TO OUR BOARD! Our Corporate Advisory Board is a select group of passionate advocates and leaders from Fortune 500 companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, non-profits, and governmentand public entities. They bring decades of experience, innovative thinking, and strategic insights to the table. Together, we navigate the ever-changing landscape of innovation and higher education, ensuring that our strategies remain cutting-edge and forward-looking.

Join the Board!

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BROUGHT TO YOU BY: SHIFT Retail lab at VCU is brought to you by the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation.

WE EMPOWER STUDENTS TO LEARN THEIR OWN WAY. The da Vinci Center for Innovation is prototyping the future of higher education through cross-disciplinary academic, experiential, and experimental learning opportunties designed for creative thinkers and doers from a wide range of backgrounds. While Students in our programs may come with design, engineering, psychology, business, and even social sciences and the arts, they all share common traits of unconvential thinking , a track record of producing highly creative work, and a collaborative and optimistic spirit.

Learn More!

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Online Boutique wear Company, presenting Sustainable Clothing made from Natural fabrics and Dyes.

Our handcrafted collection includes dresses, tops, and tunics for women and girls and shirts for men.

Exclusive “Mommy and Me” collections.

Maple Threads is where nature, artistry, and fashion unite!

Follow us on : Instagram Facebook

www.maplethreads.com 75

VCU da VINCI CENTER for INNOVATION We take risks, not tests. VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation is prototyping the future of higher education through cross-disciplinary academic, experiential, and experimental learning opportunities designed for creative thinkers and doers from a wide range of backgrounds.

Master’s of Product Innovation early decision application deadline December 15.

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Learn More

Learn More

TO LEARN MORE FOLLOW US

@vcu_shift

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What

’s N

ext?