Source: My UM

We’ve all heard of how the Macao SAR government is vigorously promoting cultural and creative industries in recent years for a more diversified economy, but few people know what exactly falls into the category of cultural and creative industries, and even fewer know what they can do to contribute to this new development. Some UM students, however, have embraced their creativity and seized the opportunity provided by the university, and launched several lines of ‘Made in UM’ products, some of which have made quite an impressive debut on the UM Open Day.

 

‘Create your own lifestyle, be an artist as you want.’

Hoping to foster a ‘Made in UM’ culture and to provide a platform for creative students to sell their products, six UM students founded Creatist—a brand for UM souvenirs—in November 2014. They went on to shine at the Campus Entrepreneurship Programme and won the bid for the chance to open a shop in the University Gallery. ‘Our slogan is “Create your own lifestyle, be an artist as you want.”’ says Winnie, a third-year student from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and co-founder of Creatist. ‘If everything goes to plan, we should be able to open a shop in the University Gallery this June. Apart from selling souvenirs made by ourselves, we will also sell other people’s products. We encourage existing original brands on the campus to sell their products through Creatist, and we also welcome design ideas from our students.’ 

Winnie says after the shop opens in the University Gallery, they will also sell food and drinks, including manually ground coffee. ‘We hope to create a lakeside cafe for UM members,’ she says.

 

Satisfaction More Important than Making Money

Turning creative ideas into popular products is one of the greatest desires of many designers. Chloris Kuan, a fourth-year student from the Faculty of Social Sciences, is one of the designers at Creatist. Seeing this year ’s graduates wearing the badges she designed on their graduation gowns made her very happy. ‘We are not doing this just to make money, she says. ‘We are more driven by a sense of satisfaction.’ In the future, Creatist members will launch a series of creative products that incorporate university elements, which they hope will foster a sense of belonging among UM members.

The wax seal pedant is another product that is very popular with the students. It was designed by Tresunnean Kam, a fourth-year student from the Faculty of Business Administration (FBA) and a freelance designer for Creatist. The idea was inspired by retro Europeanstyle wax seals. The English words engraved on the pendant, ‘You are officially graduated’, resonate with many graduating students. ‘I’m very grateful to UM and Creatist for providing a platform for students who like designing stuff to showcase their talents,’ Kam says.

 

Hand-painted Postcards by Umake

Umake was another successful bidder at last year ’s Campus Entrepreneurship Programme. They won the bid for opening a shop in the Sports Complex. Their hand-painted postcards featuring the buildings and the beautiful scenery on the campus are great hits. Shere Tang, a third-year student from the FBA, is a designer at Umake. ‘Currently we mainly sell hand-painted postcards,’ she says. ‘In the future we will launch new products such as key rings and cell phone cases, which will mainly be sold on Facebook and WeChat. Some will also be sold through the bookstore in the University Mall.’

 

Promote Low-carbon Lifestyle with Eco-friendly Products

Environmentally-friendly products hand-made by students from the Henry Fok Pearl Jubilee College (HFPJC) are also very popular with the students. Natalie is a resident fellow at the HJPJC. She is also an artist and an environmentalist who has a knack for making natural everyday products. Knowing that healthy living is one of the five competencies the college hopes to help students acquire, Natalie recruited some students and formed a Healthy Living Team last year. She or ganised workshops to teach students how to make natural products that don’ t contain ingredients that pollute the environment. So far the team has made natural laundry deter gent, natural lip balms, and natural mosquito repellents. ’Through making natural products, we hope to introduce students to a low-carbon lifestyle and increase their environmental awareness, and also to teach them skills in production, marketing, and branding,’ says Natalie.

 

Instant Hit on Open Day

The team puts a lot of ef fort into every step of the process, from buying raw materials to selection of ingredients to packaging and design. For some of the essential oils, Natalie buys raw materials from reputable suppliers every time she returns to Hong Kong and then carries them back to UM. All of their products are sold under the ‘Healthy Living Team’ brand. The first batch of products, which made their debut on the UM Open Day through Creatist in the University Gallery and the college’ s booth, were an instant hit. ‘Lots of people bought and asked about our products on the Open Day . We prepared 150 lip balms, and sold 1 14. We were very pleased to have sold so many in a single day ,’ Natalie says.

 

Higher Cost due to Expensive Raw Materials

The use of more expensive natural raw materials leads to higher costs, and the proceeds from the sales barely cover these costs. Pen Xu, a third-year student from the FBA, is a member of the team. He participates in the production process, and also helps with promotion and marketing, which he thinks helps him put what he has learned into practice. Another member, Sheeta Su, says, ‘Environmental protection is a long-term goal. Our short-term goal is to promote a low-carbon lifestyle through our natural products.’ According to Natalie, the team’ s products will be sold through Creatist starting this June if everything goes to plan. And they hope to have the opportunity to collaborate with the Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences. ‘The university and our college have been very supportive,’ she says. ‘And I believe incorporating Chinese medicines into our products will help to promote our brand.’