Vote for Taylor Bolleber, a Notre Dame alum ('10) and BIRD BEE here.
Notre Dame alum Taylor Bolleber runs BIRD BEE, a lifestyle clothing boutique offering a mix of modern bohemian, vintage inspired and contemporary clothing, shoes, jewelry and accessories in and around Detroit.
Bolleber is grateful for Notre Dame’s many leadership opportunities while she was a student.
“I started BIRD BEE in November of 2015 while working full time at an advertising agency,” she told Notre Dame two days ago. “But then I left that job in May of this year to focus full time on my business. If I make it to the top four, there will be one more week of public voting and then I will be pitching my business in front of a panel of judges next Friday.”
The Hatch Contest is an opportunity for one savvy entrepreneur each year to win a $50,000 grant to open their brick and mortar retail business in Detroit, Highland Park or Hamtramck. Hatch says they believe that independent retail helps define the character and personality of city neighborhoods and they came up with this contest on the idea of crowd entrepreneurship — giving community members a role in the city’s redevelopment.
It seems that Notre Dame also must have figured in such an early success for entrepreneur Bolleber.
“My favorite part about NDP is that even with it being relatively small compared to some public high schools, it still offered so many leadership opportunities,” she said. “I know that if I attended any other school, I would have never been part of so many clubs and organizations or take on the roles that I was able to take at ND Prep.”
Bolleber also takes extra pride in something else from her years at Notre Dame Prep. “I still feel pretty proud that in those four years, I never received a single detention for not tucking my shirt in!”
Notre Dame alum Elias Khalil (’88), who operates the successful La Feria restaurant in midtown Detroit, was the overall winner of the Hatch contest in 2012.
More on Hatch Detroit
Founded in 2011, Hatch Detroit was created to give others the opportunity to have a role in the redevelopment of Detroit. The contest was built on an idea called “Crowd Entrepreneurship” where residents have a role in voting for the type of retail they want in their community and determining the winner of the Hatch Contest. Since 2011, five winners have been announced, and fourteen Hatch Alumni businesses have opened up storefronts. Now in its sixth year, Hatch Detroit has expanded its retail role into six neighborhoods in Detroit as part of the Detroit Lion’s Living for the City Initiative. Hatch Detroit will be partnering with local Community Development Corporations (CDC’s) to determine an area of focus that works within the community’s master plan for its retail strip. Examples include improvements in signage, interior lighting, window displays, and outdoor beautification projects all geared to improving retail.
Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.
Follow us on Twitter @NDPMA
About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." The Marist Fathers and Brothers sponsor NDPMA's Catholic identity and manages its educational program. Notre Dame is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.