A true lover of arts and crafts, senior Sophia Denison is always working on new projects, and seeking artsy inspiration at the nearest art store or thrift shop. As creating and designing are Denison’s biggest forms of expression, she quickly realized that she needed to find a way to keep busy during the quarantine. Launched on April 20th, 2020, ShopxxSoph created a positive impact for men and women across the nation. With a rising 212 sales in 26 states, Denison and her customers are thrilled to engage in a positive environment of creativity and visual pleasantry, as presented on Denison’s recently developed Etsy shop.

“Sharing my work with others has been a goal of mine for years, [so] I took advantage of my extra time to create and fulfill that dream,” Denison said. “Being stuck at home posed a great opportunity for me that I seized to finally launch my art business.”

Noting that taking inspiration from music is when her best work is created, whether it be pendants, rings, beaded earrings, or masks, Denison finds that custom pieces are her favorite to design.

“A few times I’ve been making jewelry and the design reminds me of a specific person, and then they actually end up buying it from me, which makes me so happy,” Denison said.

Senior Sadie Shaheen discovered ShopxxSoph on Instagram, which led to her purchases of a mask and custom pair of earrings made out of keyboard keys; a vintage and thrifty mixture, commonly seen at ShopxxSoph.

“The exchange was super chill and [Denison] seemed really excited about making everything, and you could tell she was really passionate about what she made,” Shaheen said. “Everything turned out great; I wear the mask every day at work, and I reach for [the earrings] quite often!”

When Denison began designing masks for ShopxxSoph, she also launched a “one mask bought = one mask donated” promise, meaning every time a mask was purchased from her shop, Denison donated one mask to “Her Drive,” a Chicago-based non-for-profit which provides care products to people in need and supports supports black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities.

“The pandemic poses new and great challenges to under-resourced communities, and it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that not everyone has access to the personal protective equipment they need to keep themselves and their families safe,” Denison said. “I ended up donating 16 masks from that donation drive and am currently 60 masks into my 160 that I’m making to donate to Skulls and Drills.”

In May and June, Denison launched a “Black Lives Matter” donation raffle for one matching “pressed flower earring and pendant” set. To enter, participants sent Denison proof of donation of any amount to Black Visions Collective, a Minnesota-based organization focused on achieving transformative justice for Black people and building sustainable community-led ecosystems.

“As a small shop, I felt it was (and is) my place to use my platform to support causes and movements I believe in,” Denison said. “Any contribution of any size helps, and I am so proud of the impact we were able to make.

Along with supporting movements and local non-for-profits, Denison uses ShopxxSoph to uplift other small art shops and businesses through reposts of products, and conjoined raffles. Though her shop began as a hobby and continued interest in her creativity, Denison now plans to major in product design and business management, thanks to ShopxxSoph.

“Although I started out making jewelry for myself, I love creating for others even more. Knowing I’m sending my art to a loving home is one of the best feelings in the world, especially when I see them wearing it or send me a picture once they put it on,” Denison said. “I know how fun it is to open up the mail and see that you’ve received a package, and if my jewelry can be the reason someone smiles when they open up the mailbox, it’s all been worth it.”