From fundraiser to business, USU student makes wooden ties
When it comes to working with your hands to build a new product, Cameron Cook is one Utah State University student who understands what it takes.
Cook has been working with his wife over the last year to produce a fashion accessory that is a little different — wooden neck ties.
The project began as a fundraiser for a volunteer trip to South Africa for the Cooks.
“We are planning on going to South Africa to work in a wood shop and orphanage there that helps teach kids and teenagers how to work with wood to provide a type of trade for them so they can provide for their future families,” Cook said.
The program is sponsored by Busetsa Wood and Craft, a non-profit company aiming to create jobs for those in rural communities with woodworking projects.
Cook found his inspiration for the project while serving a mission in California. After becoming frustrated with having to retie his tie every day, Cook had the idea to design something new that would put an end to the nonstop tie-tying.
Collette Cook, Cameron’s wife, said she loves and supports the project for a few reasons of her own.
“I love being a part of this adventure,” she said. “Not only do I love the idea of wooden ties and want to support Cam, but I am stoked about applying everything I learned in my business classes.”
Like any other project, making the wooden ties presented many of its own challenges.
“I knew that marketing my ties would be difficult. I feel like I’m pretty introverted, but it has been awesome to get out of my comfort zone and market myself,” Cameron said. “I’ve been working on refining my process of making the ties, which has been fun and provided a variety of challenges as well.”
While Cameron works on the product and self-marketing, Collette is the person taking the reigns when it comes to the business side of the project. This includes business-financial planning, marketing and business administration, she said.
In order to promote their ties, the Cooks have mainly utilized social media. This made it easier to find people around their same age who are likely consumers of new products like the wooden neckties, they said. They have even connected with other business online to help continue promoting their product.
Cameron believes people and students at USU should buy his ties because of their unique design as well as the need for a tie for church.
“In Utah, there are a lot of people who wear ties on a regular basis to church,” he said. “It is fun to have a tie that doesn’t look like everybody else’s.”
In addition to standing out and providing something a bit different, Cameron said his product appeals well to a generation that is big on supporting local businesses as well as global causes, both of which his business fits into.
As far as the fundraising goes, the Cooks haven’t reached their goal quite yet, but Kickstarter helped them to make a substantial dent in the fees. Kickstarter, a crowdfunding website, allows people from all over the world to donate to projects like the Cook’s ties. Now that their goal has almost been reached with Kickstarter, the couple is continuing to market their product in order to raise the remainder of the money for their trip.
They said they plan to continue pursuing this project and others throughout their lives.
“We have always dreamed of owning a business, and this had turned out to be more successful than we thought,” Cameron said. “We would love to continue to introduce new products.”
Cameron said this adventure taught him a lot about running a business, collaborating with others, refining his woodworking skills and many other things, and he hopes to continue learning as his business grows.
“It is important to get out of your comfort zone and reach out to other people in order to be successful,” he said.
— shelbstoor11@aggiemail.usu.edu
@shelbstoor11