The 2023 Halcyon Design Fair

By Sara ‘28, Dan ‘29, and Ayden ‘29

The Design Fair was a delightful and very important event for the Grade 9 Halcyon Design students who were selling their products to students and teachers on Wednesday, May 24. This was the perfect event for the students to show their baking, cooking and selling skills, depending on what they were trying to sell. It was a well organised event and everyone seemed to like it. Many people agreed that the atmosphere there was really good and buyers looked like they were having so much fun.

Design teacher Ms. Blades said the point of the fair was for students to run their own businesses. The students created and sold a product successfully following the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion.

She said that this year the stands were more professional to entice customers, and after being asked about what happens to the money, she stated, “20% is donated [to charity] and the rest the students are allowed to keep.” Each group got to choose the charity they wanted to support.

One young entrepreneur, Noah, and his group were selling homemade bubble tea at “Bubble ‘n’ Sip” for £3 – or £3.50 for tea with mango.

He said he and his group “wanted to find a way to simultaneously sell a drink that is interesting and to support Battersea Cats and Dogs home… because we love animals, and feel that animal charities don’t get enough recognition.”

Chiara and her group were selling candles including limited edition candles named after celebrities. The product is a white candle that smells different depending on the celebrity. They cost £4 to £6. The group decided on that price after consulting many people. They also had to test their product a lot before they were ready to sell it. They will use some of the money that they raised to support a breast cancer charity.

Carlos and Artur were selling keychains at their stand named Keypers. The keychains were £2.99 and they got that price by surveying their classmates about what a fair price would be for keychains. After being asked why they were selling keychains, they said “because we love keychains and it is easy to make [them].”

They said that they chose to support the charity Woodland “because they help to restore forests.” The keychains had drawings on them and some feature flags on them. At the time of the interview they had sold 17 keychains.

Rye, Hector and Zeb were selling waffles at “Wacky Waffles” for £3.50 without toppings and an extra £0.50 for toppings including grapes, mango, and strawberries.

He said they decided to sell this product “because [waffles] are delicious and everyone loves them.” At the time of this interview they had made 28.

They said that they wanted to support the charity Trussell Trust because it funds food shelters in the UK. In order to have the best prices, they looked at their competitors’ prices and reduced theirs.

Other groups sold other types of food such as brownies, or even objects including t-shirts.

Annabel from Grade 7 thought that the decorations on the tables were amazing and it was easy to know what they were selling just by looking at the decorations. However, she also thought that some of the prices were a bit too expensive.

Ms. Blades said the team that had made the most profit would be announced in the last day assembly and they would win a trophy.

Some students sold “Wacky Waffles” at the fair.Students and teachers bought products at the stands, some of which were decorated with balloons.