Young Entrepreneurs Adopt Blueberry Biz Plans
Oxford has two award-winning youth entrepreneurs and they come from the same family.
Lauren Shears and her younger sister Isobel presented their business ideas to Oxford Town Council tonight.
Lauren, a 15-year-old student at Oxford Regional Education Centre (OREC), described her business plan that netted a one thousand dollar prize on Team Nova Scotia in the Canada Science Fair. Shears developed a T-shirt line based on material infused with wild blueberries, a fitting concept for a student who lives in the Wild Blueberry Capital of Canada.
Shears told council she used the pigment from wild blueberries to dye cotton T-shirts.
The photo shows Lauren displaying a tie-dyed T-shirt infused with wild blueberry.
The young entrepreneur admitted that her initial samples did not produce strong colours and washing tended to rinse the colours. Undaunted, Shears added a salt wash and a lemon juice rinse that she confessed did not produce the results she hoped. The young businesswoman continues to search for the solution that will allow wild blueberries to take their place in the textile industry.
Meanwhile, Shears continues to develop her already successful line of T-shirts. She will add silkscreen slogans to the soft blue shirts. She hopes profits from the silkscreened shirts will allow her to offer embroidered shirts, a finish she finds far superior.
The young businesswoman admitted that her blueberry dying effort centred on frozen berries, simply because of the time of year. She added that using good, edible berries to produce a blue dye was not environmentally friendly. Shears is exploring ways to use waste product from Oxford Frozen Foods, not just to save money, but to be a better steward of the product.
Her younger sister, Isobel told council that her goal was to sell 100 scrunchies through local outlets. Her scrunchies are made from recycled materials, allowing her to provide a variety of colours, patterns, and even custom designs. Her effort won $500 in the entrepreneurial program.
Isobel Shears told the council that she will partner with her sister to provide unique scrunchies made from wild blueberry dyed material.
Mayor Trish Stewart was thrilled with the presentations, especially with the direct connection to the town’s promotion as the Wild Blueberry Capital of Canada.
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