Kansas State University

K-State Made: Student organization and local business team up to sell student-made goods

Submitted by Communications & Marketing

A Manhattan bookstore and a Kansas State University student organization are betting on the ingenuity of the university's students with their joint venture called K-State Made.

The partnership between Varney's Bookstore and the university's Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization, or CEO, creates an avenue for products made by Kansas State University students, faculty and staff to be sold through Varney's.

"If K-State students make it, K-State Made can sell it," said Josh Kirk, student director of K-State Made. "K-State Made wants to provide a portal for students to sell the great products that they produce, to give them the chance they wouldn't get anywhere else."

Kirk is a senior in entrepreneurship from Shawnee.

All products sold by K-State Made will go through a selection process that includes a meeting with Kirk and a presentation to the K-State Made staff. Products available will range from artwork to furniture, including jewelry and photography.

"It is important to promote individual entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in the arts as part of our strategy for spreading entrepreneurial thinking across the Kansas State campus," said Jeff Hornsby, director of the Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship in the College of Business Administration. "The students at K-State Made are doing a tremendous job at promoting Kansas State University, its students and their work through entrepreneurship."

K-State Made products will be sold online at www.varneys.com/KStateMade and at the K-State Student Union Bookstore and Varney's in Aggieville. Students selected to have their products sold through K-State Made receive 70 percent of the sales of their product. The staff at Varney's is guiding students through the retail process.

"We want to provide an opportunity for students to learn about the realities of retail without all of the risks," said Brittany Johnson from the marketing department for Varney's.

A kickoff ceremony for the partnership will be 3:30-6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, in the K-State Student Union courtyard near the Union Bookstore, which is operated by Varney's.

In addition to Kirk, K-State Made staff includes:

Kyle Robinson, senior in fine arts, Hutchinson; Lane Porter, senior in fine arts, McPherson; Abbey Brown, senior in entrepreneurship, Topeka; and Maddy Irvine, freshman in hotel and restaurant management, Wichita.

For more information and to submit products for K-State Made consideration, contact Kirk at 913-752-7313 or jdkirk@k-state.edu.