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Fertile, Minnesota — When Willow Larson decided she could use her own commemorative mug in her hometown of Fertile, Minnesota, she designed one — though she doubted it would sell.
Little did the then 14-year-old artist know what that simple project would unlock. People from surrounding communities found the mug and asked for something similar for their town. Word of mouth, social media, and media coverage increased the audience for Whimsical Teenage Cup .
Last summer, KARE 11 TV’s Boyd Huppert featured Willow in his “Land of 10,000 Stories” series. The story aired on ‘NBC Nightly News’ and on his CNN Morning show, making him one of the station’s most-watched stories in 2022. I knew how many people would see it. “
Alyssa Geltzer/The Forum
Suddenly, people from Alaska to Wisconsin to Stockholm, Sweden were ordering mugs from Willows Ivory & Sage’s “production facility.” In fact, it was in a small corner of her studio, Nine Photos, on Main Street in Fertil, run by her parents.
Today, Willow says he has sold well over 10,000 mugs and has created 150 designs that are sold in over 120 different communities and stores. Her mom Caty Larson is also helping her maintain a long waiting list for upcoming mug orders.
Catty says she will be paid for if she chooses to go to college at Willow. Now in ninth grade, she has her own financial advisor to invest her windfall income wisely. The 15-year-old hasn’t got her learner’s permit yet, but she’s about to buy her new SUV. Preferably a black Chevrolet Her Trailblazer with a sunroof.
“I was looking at a Mercedes and that insurance was terrible,” says Willow, who sounds like a teenager and a 35-year-old business owner. We are moving in the direction we can.”
Since Willow not only designs the mugs, but also manufactures them on a smaller heat press, he needed to purchase two more heat presses to increase production. And now, her parents Katie and Terry Larson, along with her grandparents, regularly help make, pack, and ship the mugs when orders come in.
“Christmas was really busy, with about five orders a day,” says Willow.
With schoolwork, extracurricular activities and mug making, Willow doesn’t have much free time. “I try to do enough work each day to be able to fulfill all orders,” Willow said, adding that it’s the only option if you have your own small business.
To this day, Willow seems a little in awe of the incredible popularity of her mug project. Why do people care what I do?” she asks.
Her guess is that people like the idea of supporting small businesses and the opportunity to celebrate the arts.
Alyssa Geltzer/The Forum
On the other hand, it could be argued that it was Willow, a blend of a promising entrepreneur and a charming uninfluenced teen, who caught people’s attention. , covered with refreshing sketches of lakes, zip codes, town mascots and stylized designs of nicknames, freehanded by artists in creative fonts.
So what does the future hold for this promising young talent? Like her namesake, we doubt she’ll stand strong no matter which way the wind blows.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do in college,” she says. “I don’t even know if I should go to college or keep doing things like this. I want to license my art, so we’ll see how it goes.”
For more information on Willow’s art, please visit www.ivoryandsage.net.
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