Finally, something to do with all that art!
It’s 10pm, and you’re dangling pasta art over the open mouth of your kitchen trash. You hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but the crayon portraits and clay turkeys, the leaf decoupage and construction paper landscapes — first they consumed your fridge, then your office walls, and now they’re taking over every inch of your home. Guilt burns like acid reflux, but you steel yourself, preparing to let go of the macaroni masterpiece when, “Mom?” You whip around to find your supposed-to-be-asleep daughter, wide eyed and starting to cry. I had no choice! You wish you could explain.
Fortunately, now you do. Founded by Carolyn Lanzetta and Meg Ragland in 2013, Plum Print turns huge bins stuffed with art of all shapes and sizes into beautiful, tidy coffee table books. Simply fill their ready-to-send shipping package with your child’s work, mail it to the company’s studio in Asheville, NC, and they’ll send back a professionally designed, hardcover art anthology. Your child will be delighted, your home will be free of clutter, and you’ll rest easy knowing the “The Macaroni Mishap” will never happen again.
Digging into Asheville’s Entrepreneurial Scene
On average, children produce around 800 pieces of art in elementary school, so it’s no wonder Plum Print has grown into a nationally recognized brand featured in outlets such as Good Morning America, BuzzFeed, The New York Times, and Good Housekeeping. The ingredients for this company’s success? Talented, devoted founders, a great concept, and Hatch. Ragland explains, “The community piece of Hatch — the fact that Plum Print has access to mentors and peers right down the hall — has been instrumental to our growth.”
When Lanzetta and Ragland moved their operations from Brooklyn to Asheville in 2014, Plum Print immediately took on an active role in the city’s entrepreneurial scene. “The community here was very welcoming,” Ragland comments, “so when folks began drawing up plans for a space that would bring together high growth, early stage companies, I wanted to help.” After becoming one of Hatch’s founding board members, Ragland set up shop in the Hatch building on French Broad Avenue alongside Jon Jones’ Anthroware and more.
Collaborative Peers and Dedicated Mentors
According to the Plum Print founder, proximity to other high growth businesses has been one of the most significant benefits of joining Hatch: “To have other folks going through similar growing pains that we can talk to right next door has helped us solve problems faster and adapt more efficiently. Plus, we can save money by partnering up to share resources. It’s great to be able to experience both challenging and exciting times with others.”
But it’s not just the collaborative network of peers that has made Hatch such a vital part of Plum Print’s success. It’s also the non-profit’s experienced mentors. At one time, Lanzetta and Ragland were sure that launching a brand ambassador program would be Plum Print’s ticket to expansion. But Hatch mentors advised them against the move: “They pointed out that we were already scaling healthily through word of mouth, so we did not need to invest in this strategy,” Ragland recalls. “Their insight enabled us to devote our company resources to different, more lucrative endeavors.”
Hatch’s 4 P’s Promote Company Growth
George Glackin, one of Ragland’s fellow board members at Hatch, considers the intersection of people, place, programming, and partnerships to be the non-profit’s unique value proposition for businesses. Founders and mentors — people — come together through Hatch’s innovation hub — place — so they can engage in business development programming and build partnerships to build a flourishing entrepreneurial sector in Asheville. These four P’s have fostered a strong and inclusive sense of camaraderie among Hatch constituents.
“Everyone is here to boost each other,” Ragland comments. “The energy is invigorating — and the organization’s reach is only growing. With the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce having an increased presence in our building and by becoming an innovation hub, Hatch is bringing all of these disparate webs in Asheville together. It’s providing founders with everything they need in one place.”
Plum Print’s airtight branding and extensive press coverage may make it seem like they’ve always had everything figured out. But they’ve experienced the same challenges and setbacks that all companies do. Thanks to their support system at Hatch, Plum Print has not only been able to navigate the twists and turns of growth successfully, but they’ve also been able to pay the favor forward. “We’re thrilled to be in a position where we can offer guidance to companies that are new to Hatch,” Ragland says. Her peers feel the same way.
Hatch Innovation Hub: Committed to WNC Entrepreneurship
If you’re a WNC business owner interested in joining a vibrant, collaborative entrepreneurial community, visit hatchinnovationhub.org. There, you’ll learn more about all of the resources that Hatch offers founders, including affordable space, world class mentorship, and innovative business development programs. If you’re eager to support Hatch’s mission to promote entrepreneurial growth in Asheville, you can contact us to learn how you can get involved with the work we do, or donate here.