Photo by Hannah Howell, 2025
Courtesy of CMDI, CU Boulder
Meet the CU Boulder students turning discarded materials into thoughtfully designed gifts—and getting a real taste of entrepreneurship at one of Boulder's favorite holiday markets.
If you're heading to Pearl Street Mall for the Firefly Handmade Holiday Market this November, there's one booth you'll want to make time for. Meet the EPOP Shop, where everything on the shelves has been dreamed up, designed, and produced by CU Boulder students using materials that might otherwise end up in a landfill. But what makes this shop especially interesting isn't just what's for sale. It's the students behind the designs, the creativity that goes into giving discarded materials a second life, and the experience of turning a classroom project into something people actually want to buy.
Photo by Hannah Howell, 2025
Courtesy of CMDI, CU Boulder
More Than Your Average Class Project
EPOP is part of CU Boulder's Environmental Products of Design program, where students spend the semester turning ideas into actual products. And unlike most design courses, the experience doesn't end with a prototype and a grade. It ends with real customers, real sales, and a storefront on Pearl Street Mall at the Firefly Handmade Holiday Market.
“When people ask what makes EPOP different, I tell them our students don’t stop at a prototype,” says Jared Arp, who co-teaches the program. “It continues to tooling, a production line, and real customers.” The course centers around a concept called Diversion Design. Students identify materials that would otherwise be discarded and find creative ways to give them a second life. Think less waste, more thoughtful design, and products you'd actually want to give (or keep for yourself).
Photo by Hannah Howell, 2025
Courtesy of CMDI, CU Boulder
From the Drawing Board to Pearl Street
I had the opportunity to meet Jared Arp and fellow professor Melissa Felderman, (pictured above) who guide students through what is essentially an entire product launch in one semester. Working in teams, much like small design firms, students research what makes a good gift, develop concepts, source discarded materials, create prototypes, calculate production costs, and eventually manufacture at least 24 units of their designs.
I also had the pleasure of joining The Firefly Handmade Market founder Beth Pomerantz and four other judges, alongside Jared and Melissa, to hear the students pitch their products. Think Shark Tank, but with a creative twist. The feedback was candid, sometimes tough, and exactly the kind of experience that pushes students to think beyond the classroom. Because designing something beautiful is one thing. Figuring out how to produce it, price it, tell its story, and convince someone to buy it? That's an entirely different skill set. Even the EPOP storefront is designed and built by the students. They merchandise the space, interact with shoppers, handle sales, and pack everything up when the weekend is over.
Photo by Hannah Howell, 2025
Courtesy of CMDI, CU Boulder
The Work Behind the Shop
It's a pretty ambitious undertaking, and the weeks leading up to the market are anything but quiet. Between classes, students are producing inventory, refining packaging, solving last-minute problems, and getting ready for their first real retail experience. Meanwhile, Jared and Melissa are overseeing production, safety, branding, and the logistics of bringing an entire student-run shop to life. It's a lot. But as Jared puts it, it's also “the most rewarding thing we do.” And the lessons go well beyond product design.
Students learn how to work under pressure, collaborate, communicate the story behind their work, and understand what their creativity is actually worth. One of Jared's favorite moments? Watching students nervously price their products, only to see shoppers happily purchase them. It's a pretty powerful confidence boost, especially when those products sell out.
A Partnership Worth Celebrating
The EPOP and The Firefly Handmade Market partnership began in 2021 with a small pilot at Firefly's Denver market. What started as an experiment has grown into an annual opportunity for students to showcase their work alongside professional artists and makers. And shoppers are clearly responding. At the 2025 market, 39 students brought 240 products to sell and generated more than $10,000 in sales. Every single product sold.
“Firefly gives students something we could never create on campus,” Jared says: a professional stage, alongside working artisans, in front of the community they're designing for.
It's also a testament to the partnership between CU Boulder, Firefly Handmade founder Beth Pomerantz, and her team, who continue to give these emerging designers an opportunity to share their work with Boulder's creative community. Come see it for yourself at the Firefly Handmade Holiday Market, November 14–15, 2026, from 10 AM–4 PM on Pearl Street Mall. Admission is free, the event is family-friendly, and it's the perfect excuse to spend a little time downtown, meet the makers, shop thoughtfully, and get a head start on your holiday gifting.
Written by: Kim Genung, Locally Boulder
Whether you’re playing tourist for the afternoon or simply wandering the Firefly Handmade Holiday Market with a coffee in hand, the artisans you discover each tell a story. They’re a reminder that the best finds come from local hands—and that a simple stroll down Pearl Street Mall often turns into something you’ll hold onto a little longer. Make sure to stop by the CU-EPOP shop.
