Student owned businesses: a creative outlet during quarantine

Over the course of the pandemic, people across the world took to arts and crafts as a way to be creative and kill time while being stuck within their homes. Students at UHS have even taken it a step further and created their own small businesses to sell their creations.

America Rebolledo-Hernandez is a sophomore who sells custom paintings and digital portraits. She started her own small business last summer in the middle of quarantine. “I was bored and I wanted to become more financially independent, ”Rebolledo-Hernandez said. “I have always had a passion for art but never really got into [it] until I was 14.”

She learned how to paint and started to improve her artistic skills as her business, SimplyMadeByMery, began to grow. Her work can be found on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook under the same name.

Achly Ramos Rivera is another sophomore at UHS running her own small business, Magic Shop93, creating custom resin keychains and custom cold cups. It can be found on Instagram under ‘magic.shop93.’

“I started my business to save up money for college and some money for myself,” says Ramos- Rivera.

She also wanted to make herself independent and to help manage her money carefully.

In September, Ramos-Rivera marked the one-year anniversary of her business.

“I like to make artwork with my hands, even if I’m not good with art. I have a lot of fun making each one of my orders because each one of them are different in color, decoration and the person who ordered it,” she said.