Bulldog store founded on student collaboration

Whitefish High School Bulldog fans have a new place to shop to show off their school pride.

The new Whitefish High School store won’t just sell to students but will be operated entirely by students — from the graphics printed on merchandise to the behind-the-scenes marketing.

The student-run store is a collaboration among the Business, Graphic Design and Industrial Arts departments.

Advance Marketing students in Whitefish High School business teacher Jeremy Anderson’s class have set up the store. They will be involved with the day-to-day business operations such as ordering products, pricing merchandise, keeping an inventory and analyzing finances.

“The kids get energized through learning experiences like this,” Anderson said. “They get to see what it takes to get a product to market. It’s been a big undertaking for the kids to develop an idea and actually execute it.”

Digital Design students in Dustin Herbert’s class are completing the graphics end of the operation with plans to create a website in the future. Current designs incorporating green and gold school colors and the Bulldog mascot are showcased on a variety of men and women’s garments.

Marketing skills also came into play for the designers.

Students had to take into consideration designing for the customer in addition to himself or herself. The end result is a combination of traditional and contemporary.

“It really validates that their skills are marketable, desirable and applicable,” Herbert said. “How cool is it going to be when they see their design on a bunch of kids in the community?”

Industrial arts students also built products to feature in the store and incorporated the school’s history in a new way.

Old bleachers that were torn out during the renovation of the school gym have been transformed into chairs and fold-up tables that will be available for sale. Industrial arts students also have built shelving units out of the bleachers to showcase store merchandise.

Fifty percent of profits will support school athletic programs and 50 percent of revenue will support educational programs such as business, industrial arts and graphic design.

The grand opening of the store was Tuesday during the double-header wrestling matches.

Anderson said the store doesn’t have set hours of operation but will be open during high-traffic events such as athletic games or parent-teacher conferences.