FEATURES

hockadayfourcast.org FEATURES December 17, 2020 13 Stitching a path to entrepreneurship Social Impact Entrepreneurship Students launch mask brand, FlipMask

by Zoe Cote Staff Writer

Seniors Honor Wood, Kate Wills and Lauren Stallings launched their much anticipated, multipurpose mask brand, FlipMask, on Dec. 1 with big plans to grow their small business. Next steps for the company include transitioning from homemade, small-scale production to securing patents, obtaining an LLC license and pursuing contract manufacturing.

The idea originated in their Economics and Social Entrepreneurship class during a brainstorming activity in September. During the activity, all three of the soon-to-be founders addressed the habit of forgetting masks. Wood connected her tendency to forget hair ties as well and the trio unknowingly initiated FlipMask.

“I had this consistent problem, so did a lot of other people, where I would be wearing my mask and I would sit down at a restaurant or get in the car, it would be dangling around, touching the ground, touching tables,” Wood said. “Plus, I was always forgetting to grab one on the way out of the house, and I had another similar problem where I would always forget hair ties, so we kind of combined these two issues to create FlipMask.”

Designed by Kate Wills, the multipurpose, sustainable face mask aims for fast fashion and accessory efficiency. Wills’ design underwent many ‘first drafts,’ as well as cross-referencing with patented mask designs to prevent copyright infringement.

“I prototyped and designed the idea,” Wills said. “I would make a mask, bring it to school, and have [Lauren and Honor] assess what was wrong with it. Then I’d go by Melody Hu Staff Writer

Every year, the Hockaday Math Club holds tryouts for the Harvard MIT Mathematics Tournament. Typically, students compete in the Harvard or MIT lecture halls, but this year students competed virtually. Hockaday sent two teams of six students to the open.

The Hockaday Math Club held virtual tryouts for the HMMT teams. Club officers sent out ten questions to students trying out, giving them a week to complete them. Then, the officers used the scores of the questions to make the teams.

Typically, the students who make the HMMT tournament travel to Boston for the competition. In past years, the tournament took place at Harvard or MIT.

“It is really fun to travel with your team and meet people all over the nation and all over the world who are passionate about math,” senior Jennifer Xiong said. “The competition itself is definitely

photo by Lauren Stallings Wood and Wills sport their FlipMasks while discussing product design.

back to the drawing board. I’ve made probably 30-40 prototype masks.”

Their mock-ups faced many tedious trials and tribulations at the hands of Wills.

“We’ve adjusted sizing, ear pieces, symmetry, different fabrics and many other design flaws,” Wills said. “I bruised my knuckles on safety scissors because I don’t have fabric scissors and I use a hair straightener to press the masks. It’s a very ‘return to your roots’ process.”

The mask folds inside itself, protecting the inside fabric from germ exposure when consumers go mask-less in public. When the mask is tucked away, it exposes a hair tie. A clever seam design conceals the hair tie in the lining when the mask is in use. The hair tie can also function as an easy link for car keys and lanyards, or as a bracelet, making the product adaptable and redesigning masks in a more functional, transportable way.

“It’s always there on-the-go so you’re never missing it,” Stallings said. challenging, but I really enjoy the experience.”

The Harvard MIT Mathematics Tournament, founded in 1998, usually consists of about 1,000 students from around the world. This year, the competition was changed to the Harvard MIT Mathematics Open to reflect this year’s virtual environment. The tournament was

All three founders have prior experience in innovative projects from their former Social Impact class Anatomy, Evolution, and the Zoo, and intend to pursue innovation and entrepreneurship beyond Hockaday.

“Honor is very business-y so she took the business route,” Stallings said. “Kate is our little crafty artist and got to sewing immediately, and I established myself as the communications person to advertise and market the mask.”

Working with friends has thrown some obstacles their way in terms of delegating and separating business from emotions, but the trio said collaborating with friends has been ideal to foster their fun-loving, chique brand.

“There’s always this caveat — don’t go into business with your friends — but being friends has actually made the process so much easier in terms of communication and made the work environment a lot more fun,” Wood said. “We have really similar goals and we’re really similar people so we organized by students at Harvard, MIT, and nearby schools. The competition consists of three rounds: teams, individual, and Guts.

During the teams round, each of the Hockaday teams met with each other via Zoom or Microsoft Teams to solve problems. There were 10 questions, and teams were only able

A whole new equation

have a similar brand vision.”

The group also has faced challenges with manufacturing and licensing.

“Wow it’s expensive,” Wills said. “They don’t tell you that a patent is $5,000-$10,000 and the LLC license is $600, (not including legal fees). We’ve spent $400 alone on production already. They make it seem so easy to start a business but manufacturers require a minimum of 200 masks of one color per order and we don’t have that kind of money yet.”

Despite the setbacks, they are forging ahead with small-scale production as Wood and Stallings learn to sew and manufacture.

“We’re trying to capitalize on the demand for masks before the vaccine comes out,” Wills said.

News of their invention traveled throughout Upper School in October when they launched their company Instagram. Within the first week they received 50,000 views on an Instagram video and website viewership skyrocketed, with more than 160 people tapping the link before the online store had even launched.

“Forty-thousand views to me is just crazy,” Stallings said. “I think it’s crazy that people would take time out of their days to watch something we made in Econ class.”

Pre-orders launched with the website on Dec. 1, and the company received wover 365 website-taps on opening day. Holiday prints are launching soon, alongside their signature and limitededition collections, at myflipmask. com. Masks are listed for $14.99 on and supporters can follow their entrepreneurial journey on Instagram @flip.mask.

“We have really big goals,” Wood said, “but we’re taking it one step at

Math Club teams compete in virtual Harvard MIT Math Tournament

a time.”

photo by Kelsey Chen

to submit answers every minute. The individual round consisted of two parts: general and theme, and Hockaday students submitted answers individually. The general round contained questions about all high school math subjects, and the theme round was based on a common theme.

During the Guts round, competitors were given 80 minutes to solve problems with their team. Each problem varied in difficulty and point values. The problems are given out in sets of three, and teams are only allowed to start the next set of problems once they finish the set before.

“Solving the questions was similar to the in person competition, but it was the atmosphere that made it feel different because usually, you are surrounded by people working really hard so I would feel more motivated” junior Kyulee Kim said.

Additionally, the competition held optional Zoom meetings called Friday Night Lives, featuring both math and non-math-related games.

14 December 17, 2020 FEATURES Quarantine creativity

Twins Tess and Louisa Benedict use Instagram to share and explore art

by Anna Gum Opinion Editor

What easily could have turned into a summer of boredom and wasted time transformed into a time of creativity and art for senior sisters Tess and Louisa Benedict. March 12, 2020, students turned in their final exams, hustled to overflow parking and left school for spring break. As this week-long break turned into months of distance learning and social distancing, the Benedict sisters decided to make the most of their new-found freetime.

The first week of quarantine in March 2020, Louisa opened a new account on Instagram dedicated to sharing her art. As a first-year studio art student, she used her new free time granted by COVID-19 and a simultaneous concussion to further explore painting and calligraphy.

“I didn’t want to just sit in my room all summer,” Louisa said, “but I was also wanting to do something to help the Black Lives Matter movement as protests were gaining coverage.”

To earn money to contribute to BLM organizations, she started making bookmarks to sell through her Instagram account. Classmates, friends from camp and her family reached out to request bookmarks.

She also used her art as a way to de-stress and find control in the confusing times of COVID-19.

“It’s about the peace and quiet,” Louisa said. “It’s just a moment where you can kind of escape for a second, and you get to control the paint. If you mess up, you can fix it. It’s just a very calming process.”

Unlike her sister, Tess found inspiration not from peace and silence, but from music.

“I like to listen to music when I work, and it kind of inspires me,” Tess said. “It can be looking at an album cover or the feeling a song creates and putting that into a piece.”

Tess shared her art through an Instagram account as well. Initially she uploaded her pictures onto RedBubble, and when they started attracting buyers, she realized she could both earn money and connect with people through her art.

Tess initially got into art when her sister introduced her to calligraphy. As calligraphy sparked Louisa’s passion for art, Tess decided to explore it for herself. From there, she began ceramics her freshman year. “Ceramics fits more with my style of art, I A graphic design by Tess Benedict. A painting of flowers by Louisa Benedict. think,” Tess said. “I get to take my thoughts and kind of make them into something 3D.”

While Tess leaned toward ceramics and sculptural art, Louisa continued to focus more on painting and calligraphy. Their styles also differ in how they view imperfections in their art. Often recreating existing paintings, Louisa insists on perfection and precision, whereas Tess enjoys exploring and tolerates a level of imperfection.

“Tess is kind of okay with imperfection and messing around with colors,” Louisa said. “I similarly like my water coloring to be imperfect, but when it comes to painting or calligraphy, it has to be perfect.”

Despite the differences in their styles, both sisters enjoy sharing their art with others, describing it as a way to be a part of something—something that touches another person’s life or lasts for years to come.

“I love that the account lets me share my art with everyone,” Louisa said. “It invites them to be a part of what I do, and it lets me share art they could treasure for a long time.”

A graphic design of sneakers by Tess Benedict.

Checking in with Dr. Tiffani Kocsis

New assistant head of Upper School talks about education, writing, ‘Supermarket Sweep’

by Lea Whitley Social Media & Video Editor

What brought you to Hockaday?

I lived in Dallas previously so I knew the school well. I worked at an all-girls school in Los Angeles and absolutely loved it so I knew I wanted to get back to it whenever my next professional move was. We decided to move back to Dallas in March and nothing was really out there so it was a “livin’ on a prayer” moment. I couldn’t believe it when this job opened up (which nearly mirrors the one I was in at the time). When I met everyone on my interview days, I was sold.

Where did you go to college and what did you study?

I started college in January of my senior year taking classes during the day at the junior college and working in their Athletic Training room with their off-season athletes. I had every intention of being a certified athletic trainer. I transferred to the University of Oregon where I majored in human physiology and minored in psychology. Later down the road I completed my master’s at the University of North Texas and my doctorate at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

Is it true you wrote a book for sale on Amazon? Tell us about it.

Haha. It’s true. So after I finished my doctorate, I received a contract with Routledge Publishing to turn my dissertation into an academic text. I spent about a year adding content and making edits before publishing (which is an insane process). Essentially, the project looked at sexuality education in the United States in three arenas-developmental (do the programs taught meet the development needs of young people), political (how does the development of said programs align with what was going on politically, how are politics used to shape these programs), and legal (what do the courts say about sexuality education programming). Then, using a social justice lens, particularly around gender and sexuality theories, I did an analysis of some different programs and made recommendations for program development.

Tell us a little bit about how you grew up.

I was born and lived in Bakersfield, California, with my mom and grandmother until I was 10 and then moved to Los Angeles after my mother remarried. Bakersfield is in central California and has similar vibes to Lubbock or Waco. We always joke it’s where my affinity for Texas came from. Once in Los Angeles, I attended big public middle and high schools. I played high school and club volleyball, dabbled in other sports (Cross country, Basketball, Soccer and Track and Field) but never really got interested. I worked in the Athletic Training room for three years as an intern through a program called Regional Occupation Program.

What jobs have you had before working here?

While I was in college and for a year or so after I worked in the restaurant industry as a server and bartender. It was a really fun time in my life! I started substitute teaching and then once my credential was done I was teaching special education right away. Been in schools ever since. I’ve also done some program consulting with schools in Los Angeles as well as the archdiocese. I went from special ed to teaching science/anatomy & physiology/health/psychology to dean

photo by Ava Berger Dr. Kocsis shows her wild side in her ostrich Halloween costume.

of students and assistant principal.

What’s one weird fact about you?

Only one? I was on the TV show “Supermarket Sweep” when I was 12. I’m from California but don’t really like the beach. I hate shoes.

What are your favorite things to do on the weekends? Where do you like to go?

In a non-COVID world: coffee shops, dinner with friends, backyard bbqs, bookstores, farmers’ markets, street fairs, road trips. I’m pretty simple when it comes to entertainment.

hockadayfourcast.org FEATURES December 17, 2020 15 Alumna blends social impact, fashion

Emmy Hancock starts clothing line to help end period poverty

by Kate Clark Gandhi’s statement and the

Managing Editor conversations afterward sparked the

Blending social activism hashtag, #PeriodsAreNotAnInsult. and fashion, 2014 Activists were discussing allHockaday graduate Emmy things-period: minimal innovation Hancock founded her in menstruation care, the failed business, Oluna, which legislation to require tampons to sells playful pants while raising label the ingredients, the tampon tax awareness of period poverty. For and the stigma behind periods. every pair of pants sold, Oluna will “You can address it from a policy donate a year’s supply worth of period standpoint, health standpoint, products to an American in need. research standpoint or gender

Hancock launched Oluna on Oct. equality standpoint,” Hancock 1. Her inspiration culminated from said. “I realized after 2015 that the her high school days and national conversations spiked, then died menstrual down.” activism that “The reason that I Period sparked while she was at the chose fashion as a poverty refers to the inability to University of platform to speak access feminine Pennsylvania. “When I was at Hockaday, out about period poverty is because hygiene products. “It is I worked in it is a more lasting experienced modeling,” Hancock said. way to continue the by the poor, homeless and “I was already conversation” incarcerated— around fashion and retail. In Emmy Hancock not only in developing 2015, it was Founder of Oluna countries, but the year of the especially right period—so there here in our own was a spike in backyards,” viral activism, Hancock wrote in news pieces her first journal and nonprofits entry on her speaking out website. against period Hancock poverty, getting listed five main the word out and factors that destigmatizing it.” result in period

Hancock poverty: lack of had dreamt of access, lack of founding a social research, lack impact retail of policy, lack of start-up that education and tackled period environmental poverty in a harm. More playful manner. information The day she graduated from college is available on in 2018, she created the ‘limited Oluna’s website: https://www.oluna. liability company’ for Oluna. co.

“The reason that I chose fashion Using her LLC, Hancock finally set as a platform to speak out about Oluna into action during quarantine period poverty is because it is a when she moved back to her family more lasting way to continue the home in Dallas. conversation,” Hancock said, “as well “I’m so glad she’s found something as to acknowledge brand identity that she’s so passionate about,” said with de-stigmatization.” Hancock’s sister Katherine, a 2020

Her colorful pants are inclusive graduate. of all body types, ages and even Hancock created everything states of the day, to open up the Oluna, the website, social media conversation beyond just those who accounts and designs, using her menstruate and to allow everyone to knowledge as the former editor-insupport the cause. chief of Vibrato, the school literary

“I choose to have a playful and magazine, and with no other help. cute brand because oftentimes when “It is so inspiring that a former people think of period poverty they Vibrato member has started her might not feel comfortable asking own business,” said Gabriella Rees, questions,” Hancock said. “A lot of Vibrato photo editor. “It is cool people do not know where to begin. I and empowering that she used the want to arm my consumer base with techniques she learned at Hockaday the data. When you have the data it is to start Oluna.” a common sense issue, it should not With her talents in fashion, design be up for debate.” and social impact all put together,

One moment noted as the Oluna’s ultimate and primary goal is beginning of the conversation on to get people talking. periods was when Kiran Gandhi, “Since most people are unaware a Los Angeles based femsinist, of the different forms that period ran the London marathon without poverty can take,” Hancock said, using femine hygiene products “our mission is to create a fun and to encourage women not to be playful space where no question is embarrassed about their periods. too weird.”

photo courtesy ofEmmy Hancock Models show off fashions from Hancock’s company, Oluna. Check out Oluna.co to shop similar looks.